UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT  LOS  ANGELES 


MODERN 
SALESMANAGEMENT 


MODERN 
SALESMANAGEMENT 

A  PRACTICAL  HANDBOOK  AND  GUIDE 


BY 
J.  GEORGE  FREDERICK 

VBESIDENT   OF  THE   BUSINESS   BOtJBSB,   NEW   YORK;    SALES    ENGINEEB   AND   COUNSELOR; 
TBBlASDBBa  AND  QOVEBNOB  THE  NEW   TOBK   BALESMANAQEBS'    CLUB 


D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK  LONDON 

1929 


Copyright,  1919,  by 
D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


\  PREFACE 

^  By  Charles  F.  Abbott 

vj     My  Deae  Mr.  Frederick: 

I  have  read  witli  great  interest  the  proofs  of  your  hook 
on  "  Salesmanagement, "  and  I  wish  to  express  to  you  my 
appreciation  for  your  painstaking  effort  in  preparing  a 
book  which,  in  my  opinion,  will  prove  of  great  value  to 
business  men  in  all  fields  of  endeavor. 

For  the  first  time,  there  is  now  available  in  your  book  an 
<v>j      organized  body  of  knowledge  on  all  phases  of  salesmanage- 
^      ment.     No  profession  can  properly  develop  without  the 
siyj    help  of  such  knowledge,  and  salesmana^ement  very  greatly 
needs,  especially  at  this  time  in  American  business  his- 
tory,  the   sound   development   of   salesmanagement   as   a 
trained  profession. 

For  many  years,  individual  salesmanagers  have  hoarded 
their  knowledge  as  their  personal  possession,  with  the  re- 
sult that  owing  to  a  lack  of  a  cooperative  exchange  of  ideas, 
v^     business  finds  itself  in  great  need  of  broadly  trained  sales- 
j>    managers.     While  there  has  been  much  writing  on  sales- 
^     manship,  there  has  been  very  little  on  salesmanagement, 
though,  in  my  opinion,  there  is  a  greater  need  for  the 
latter,  as  selling  ability  can  only  be  developed  through  a 
proper  understanding  of  salesmanagement. 

The  next  ten  years  will  no  doubt  see  tremendous  com- 
petitive pressure,  and  remarkable  sales  opportunities  for 
America,  and  if  we  are  to  maintain  our  prestige,  we  must 
have  salesmanagers  and  sales  executives  who  understand 
the  full  degree  of  knowledge  and  training  essential  for 
selling  on  the  broad  scale  which  is  now  in  demand. 


vi  PREFACE 

Through  your  broad  experience  in  salesmanagers '  or- 
ganizations, and  as  a  sales  counsellor,  you  have  had 
an  excellent  opportunity  to  develop  a  great  deal  of 
valuable  information  on  your  subject,  which  is  reflected 
in  your  publication  to  a  veiy  high  degree.  Likewise,  your 
able  editorship  of  Advertmng  and  Selling  magazine,  and 
your  earlier  work  as  Managing  Editor  of  Printers'  Ink, 
particularly  fits  you  for  presenting  to  the  American  busi- 
ness man  an  outline  of  salesmanagement  that  combines 
the  best  of  practical  experience. 

I  am  confident  that  salesmanagers  and  business  execu- 
tives throughout  this  country,  no  matter  what  their  experi- 
ence has  been,  will  read  this  book  and  greatly  add  to  their 
information  and  knowledge  of  salesmanagement.  Person- 
ally, I  am  indebted  to  you,  because  I  feel  that  your  book 
is  one  that  will  prove  of  value  to  me  in  my  work. 

The  under-student  of  salesmanagement,  or,  in  fact,  any 
business  man  interested  in  selling,  which  is  the  great  funda- 
mental of  business,  will  find  in  your  book  a  saving  of 
years  of  their  time  and  study,  and  a  means  of  great  as- 
sistance in  moulding  successful  business  careers. 

Yours  very  truly, 

Charles  F.  Abbott. 

At  present  Director  of  Sales,  Celluloid  Company  of  New  York; 
founder  and  president,  Salesmanagers'  Club  of  New  York; 
secretary,  American  Association  of  Sales  Executives. 


INTEODUCTION 

When  the  Great  War  came  to  its  sudden  end,  a  hun- 
dred thousand  factories  in  America  and  all  over  the 
world — factories  with  nearly  doubled  capacity  since 
1914 — were  swiftly  shifted  from  production  of  war 
material  to  production  of  regular  merchandise. 

Sales  organizations  which  virtually  had  been  idle  dur- 
ing the  war  were  suddenly  laden  with  the  heavy  re- 
sponsibility of  finding  a  market  for  huge  additional 
manufacturing  capacities.  Capital,  floor-space,  equip- 
ment and  labor  had  been  expanded  in  various  degrees 
from  20  per  cent  to  100  per  cent.  To  shut  down  the  extra 
capacity,  or  part  with  it,  was  deemed  not  only  out  of 
keeping  with  American  spirit  and  patriotism,  but  would 
have  been  a  serious  step  for  many  other  reasons  of  pres- 
tige, finance  and  competition. 

American  selling  genius  is  meeting  the  situation  char- 
acteristically by  more  intensive  study  and  preparation 
for  the  sharpest  sales  competition  the  world  has  ever 
known.  The  nations  of  the  world  are  all  organizing 
for  commercial  development  to  a  degree  not  heretofore 
possible.  The  fabricating  skill  learned  in  war's  hard 
school  is  producing  a  total  additional  world  production 
of  at  least  40  per  cent,  and  to  absorb  this,  the  world's 
consumption  of  merchandise  will  need  to  be  increased 
through  creative  sales  effort.  The  United  States  has 
practically  doubled  its  production  of  manufactured  ar- 
ticles— and  the  farmer  has  done  likewise. 

vii 


viii  INTRODUCTION 

What  does  this  mean  to  the  salesmanager  whose  re- 
sponsibility it  is  to  develop  and  maintain  this  volume 
of  business? 

A  peculiar  compulsion  and  challenge  lies  upon 
modern  salesmanagers — a  challenge  to  grow  in  personal 
vision  and  ability  to  the  new  levels  called  for  by  the 
great  stimulation  of  production  brought  about  by  the 
war's  abnormal  consumption.  The  new  high  levels  of 
consumption  must  not  slump :  the  new  high  standards 
of  living  and  purchasing  created  by  war  wages  must  be 
maintained  rather  than  lowered.  Throughout  the  world 
the  per  capita  consumption  of  purchase  must  be  raised ; 
backward  areas  must  be  equipped,  millons  of  population 
must  be  taught  new  food,  clothing  and  equipment  wants ; 
and  fallow  fields  and  resources  must  be  cultivated. 

In  plain  business  terms,  we  must  sell  enormously  more 
than  we  have  ever  sold  before,  not  only  to  ourselves,  but 
also  to  the  other  countries  of  the  world.  The  country 
with  the  most  constructive,  trained  salesmanagers  will 
keep  the  most  factory  wheels  whirling  and  achieve  world 
commercial  leadership,  a  prize  which  is  now  the  only 
legitimate  object  of  national  ambition  and  competition. 

The  sales  task  before  America  can  only  be  accomplished 
by  an  increase  of  technical  knowledge  concerning  the 
diificult  art  and  science  of  salesmanagement.  This  in- 
crease of  knowledge  must  be  of  the  broadest  kind,  and 
include  a  sound  understanding  of  not  only  the  more 
practical  parts  of  salesmanagement,  but  also  study  of 
public  temper,  psychology  and  economics.  The  sales- 
manship and  salesmanagement  of  pure  bombast  and 
sheer  energy,  so  familiar  in  past  years,  will  not  suffice. 
Success  at  salesmanagement  must  depend  upon  some 
fundamental  changes  in  the  habits  and  thoughts  of  the 
American  people,  results  which  are  obtained  only  by 


INTRODUCTION  ix 

the  most  subtle  and  painstaking  and  statesmanlike 
grasp  of  the  subject  of  increased  national  consump- 
tion and  of  the  deeper  economic  problems  of  selling. 
The  problem  not  only  has  to  do  with  the  huge  and 
varied  territory  of  the  United  States  and  Canada,  but 
in  the  future  must  include  the  world.  There  are  seven- 
ty-nine countries  into  which  normally  it  pays  to  seek 
export  markets ;  and  even  the  United  States  alone  has 
almost  as  many  separate  units  to  study.  In  view  of 
the  grave  situation  in  weaker  countries,  salesmanship 
will  have  to  be  mixed  with  humane  international  policy 
for  a  time — thus  demanding  from  salesmanagers  a 
broad  world  outlook  and  vision. 

It  appears  to  the  author  therefore,  that  the  treatise 
on  Salesmanagement  here  offered  is  one  which  fits  in 
with  a  national,  even  an  international,  need.  Until 
within  recent  years  salesmanagement  was  conceived  to 
be  largely  a  matter  of  personal  qualities — ability  to 
inspire  salesmen,  energy,  enthusiasm  and  a  certain  in- 
gratiating good  fellowship  which  mixed  smoothly  with 
the  customer  and  the  men  under  him.  This  period  and 
type  was  obliged  to  go  because  of  the  rapidly  increasing 
breadth  of  the  country  as  a  sales  field,  and  its  many 
complex  characteristics,  together  with  the  increasing 
intricacies  of  distribution. 

Once  customer  and  salesman  both  could  be  met  and 
understood  and  stimulated  individually  and  person- 
ally by  the  salesmanager.  Now  there  is  mainly  a  long 
distance  contact  and  a  dealing  with  abstract  factors, 
policies  and  methods  which  call  for  study  and  treatment 
on  the  mass  principle. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  salesmanagement  has  always 
been  to  a  large  degree  a  dealing  with  the  intangible,  for 
selling  success  is  primarily  an  intangible  matter.     Ex- 


X  INTRODUCTION 

perience  in  contact  with  people  gave  the  old-time  sales- 
manager  an  ability  to  successfully  master  these  intangi- 
ble factors  when  personified  in  a  customer  whom  he 
could  personally  see,  talk  to,  "size  up"  and  affect 
with  his  personality.  But  this  type  of  salesmanager — as 
a  rule  a  successful  road  salesman  elevated  to  the  job — 
too  often  finds  it  difficult  and  even  distasteful  to  study 
customers  in  the  mass ;  to  average  up  human  nature, 
to  correctly  analyze  the  complicated  factors  of  dis- 
tribution and  public  psj^chology.  The  rapid  rise  of  ad- 
vertising in  selling  councils  is  due  to  this  frequent  tem- 
peramental failure  on  the  part  of  salesmanagers  to  be 
able  to  visualize  abstractly — to  understand  the  intangi- 
ble elements  of  selling  well  enough  to  plan  correctly 
to  affect  people  at  long  range.  Advertising  genius  has 
supplied  this  knowledge  of  public  temper  and  need  and 
become  a  very  prominent  part,  therefore,  of  modern 
successful  sales  policy. 

The  problem  of  building  and  maintaining  an  organ- 
ization large  enough  to  cover  the  country,  to  say  nothing 
of  export  selling,  is  still  another  kind  of  problem  which 
salesmanagement  demands,  calling  for  still  another  set 
of  faculties  and  aptitudes  and  special  abilities.  In  the 
days  of  smaller  radius  of  selling  and  smaller  volume 
of  sales,  a  salesmanager  who  was  not  much  of  an  organ- 
izer, but  who  had  personal  selling  ability  and  selling 
insight,  could  succeed.  In  a  day,  however,  of  long- 
range  selling,  on  a  broad  scale,  the  need  is  absolute 
for  a  salesmanager  who  is  not  only  an  organizer  of 
men,  but  who  can  also  shape  and  carry  out  the  wide- 
flung  careful  policies  and  apply  the  broad  principles 
which  the  new  and  greater  selling  opportunity  demands. 

It  will  readily  be  seen,  therefore,  that  the  personal 
equipment  of  the  salesmanager  is  all  important — is  no 


INTRODUCTION  xi 

longer  a  matter  of  unusual  personal  ability  at  selling, 
or  of  a  little  natural  gift  at  leadership.  It  calls  for  a 
most  unusual  combination  of  qualities  which  are  rather 
seldom  present  in  one  man,  and  when  they  are  not 
present  must  be  introduced  in  the  form  of  able  staff 
assistance  or  consulting  counsel  if  the  business  is  to 
reach  its  logical  success. 

In  past  years  a  great  deal  of  mysterious  hocus  pocus 
has  been  made  over  salesmanship  and  salesmanagement. 
It  has  popularly  been  supposed  to  consist  mainly  of 
personal  magic — certain  inborn  qualities  and  certain 
charms  and  powers  of  personality  which  constitute  some- 
thing of  an  individual  secret — something  that  ''a  man 
either  has  or  hasn't  got."  Naturally,  therefore,  a  sur- 
prising lack  of  organized  knowledge  of  salesmanage- 
ment has  existed.  Salesmanagers  hoard  their  knowledge 
like  doctors  in  the  old  days  when  medicine  was  merely 
the  practice  of  "black  art."  This  is  evidenced  by 
the  fact  that  practically  every  other  branch  of  business 
activity — credit  managers,  export  managers,  advertis- 
ing managers,  etc. — many  of  them  the  employees  of 
the  salesmanagers — have  well-defined  organizations,  na- 
tional and  international,  in  scope,  with  many  textbooks 
and  common  standards  of  activity.  Yet  salesmanage- 
ment has  until  recent  years  been  entirely  unorganized, 
and  is  now  but  barely  beginning  to  be  organized.  Suc- 
cessful salesmanagement  and  selling  methods  have  been 
held  to  be  business  secrets  to  a  greater  degree  than 
any  other  activity  of  business.  Firms  have  been  willing 
to  show  visitors  every  nook  and  cranny  of  their  factory, 
every  form  and  system  of  their  office,  and  details  of 
practically  every  other  branch  of  their  business ;  but 
they  have  balked  at  disclosing  the  principles  and  methods 
by  which  they  produce  their  sales  success. 


xii  INTRODUCTION 

This  has  actually  retarded  the  development  of  sales- 
mauagement,  and  severely  limited  the  number  of  able 
salesmanagers.  There  is  now,  and  will  be  for  some 
years  to  come,  a  dearth  of  really  able  salesmanagers, 
skilled  in  both  the  modern  requirements  of  practical 
knowledge  and  of  the  deep-reaching  matters  which  they 
will  have  to  consider.  If  this  book  will  assist  in  the 
development  of  more  better  trained  salesmanagers,  it 
will  have  reached  the  author's  goal. 

J.  Geobge  Fsspebick 

New  Yobk  Cixt 


CONTENTS 

!HAPTSB  PAOB 

I.    The  Salesmanager  Himself  and  His  Point  op  View        1 
What  He  is  Up  Against — Personal  Qualities  Essential  in 
Salesmanagers — The  Analytical  Point  of  View — The 
Dynamic    Point    of    View — The    Right    Organization 
Point  of  View — Trained  Merchandising  Instinct. 

II.    Shaping  the  Product  for  the  Market    ...       16 
The  Correct  Relation  of  the  Article  to  the  Sales  Plan — 
Experimentation  and  Market  Test — The  Importance 
of  Individuality  in  Merchandise — How  to  Develop  In- 
dividuality— Making   an   Article   "Fool   Proof"   and 
Convenient — Meeting  the  Consumer's  Need. 

III.  The  Salesmanager's  Relation  to  the  Factory        .      25 

Need  of  Synchronizing  Making  and  Selling — Degree  of 
Authority  of  Sales  Department  Over  Product — Relation 
of  Production  Time  to  Sales  Policy — The  "Standard 
Burden  Plan"  of  Equalizing  Idle  Factory  Time — 
Factory  Capacity  and  Seasonal  Variations — Multi- 
plicity of  Models  versus  Standardization. 

IV.  Building  a  Good  Sales  Organization      ...      33 

Correct  Conception  of  Sales  Organizations — Different 
Forms  of  Sales  Organization — Charting  the  Sales 
Organization — The  Fixing  of  Authority  and  Responsi- 
bility— ^A  Sales  Organization  Manual — Overlapping  of 
Duties  and  Authority — Organization  Etiquette — 
Loyalty  and  "Esprit  de  Corps"  for  Both  the  Firm  and 
the  Department — Sales  Conference  Methods  and 
Principles. 

V.  Price-Making  and  Price  Protection  ...  47 
Price,  QuaUty  and  Individuality — Price  in  Relation  to 
Manufacturing  and  Field  Conditions — Price  Equality — 
Just  Price  Discrimination — Fixing  the  "Re-Sale  Price" 
— General  Profit  and  Price  Policy — Special  Margin 
Plans  and  Sliding  Scales — The  Psychology  of  the 
Retail  Price — Merchandising  a  Price — Protecting 
Dealers  and  Jobbers  Against  Themselves  in  Price 
Policy — Zone  System  for  Jobbing  and  Retail  Prices — 
Advanced  Geographical  Price  Equalization. 
xili 


xiv  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGB 

VI.  The  Shaping  op  Sound  Marketing  Policies  .  .  63 
The  Vital  Need  of  Definite  Sales  Policies — Difference 
Between  Policy  and  Principle — Matters  for  which 
Policies  are  Important — How  to  Measure  the  EfBciency 
of  a  Policy — Featuring  a  Single  Policy  as  a  Keynote — 
Profiting  by  Competitor's  Weakness  of  Policy — Policy 
and  the  Twenty- Year  Point  of  View — Policies  and 
the  Human  Equation — The  Importance  of  the  Man  in 
Sales  Success. 

VII.    Achieving  Successful  Distribution  ...       76 

Automatic  Sales  Through  Smooth  Running  Distribu- 
tion— The  Seven  Elements  of  Successful  Distribution — 
Distribution  as  a  Mechanism — "High  Spot  Selling" 
versus  Concentration  and  Intensified  Work — "Per- 
centage of  Distribution" — How  Aggressive  Advertising 
Builds  Distribution — Educational  Effort  on  Dealers 
to  Increase  Distribution  EflBciency. 

VIII.  Selling  Direct  and  Selling  Through  Jobbers  .  .  85 
Why  Some  Firms  Prefer  to  Sell  Direct  to  Retailers — 
Advantages  and  Disadvantages  of  Selling  to  Jobbers — 
Branch  Warehouses  and  Other  Compromises  and 
"Straddles"— Getting  "Sales  Punch"  to  Retailer 
Through  Jobbers — The  Jobber  and  "  Mixed  Functions. " 

IX.  Creating  Demand  and  Educating  Consumers  .  .  92 
Demand  as  a  State  of  Mind — The  Subtle  Work  of 
Creating  a  State  of  Mind  That  Leads  to  Demand — 
Changing  the  Public's  Habits  and  Standards — Demand 
Creation  in  Relation  to  a  Mass  Movement — The 
Technical  Tools  of  Demand  Creation — Names,  Trade 
Mark  or  Slogan  That  Help  Create  Desire — Develop- 
ment of  Tendencies  in  the  Bujdng  Public — Systematic 
Educational  Campaigns — Service  as  a  Means  to  Help 
Educate. 

X.     Meeting  Competition        ......     102 

House  Pohcy  as  a  Competition  Safeguard — Territorial 
Readiness  to  Meet  Competition — Price  as  a  Competitive 
Factor — Wilful,  Reckless  Price  Competition — Secret 
Price  Concessions — Meeting  the  Competitor's  Selling 
Arguments — Competition  for  Prestige — Advertising  as 
a  Competitive  Tool  for  Prestige — Organization  as  Com- 
petitive Protection. 

XI.     Splitting  Up  Sales  Territory  and  Setting  Quotas     .     Ill 
The  Logic  of  Carefully  Split  Territory — Best  Lines  on 


CONTENTS  XV 

OHAPTEB  PAGE 

Which  to  SpUt  Territory — How  Much  Territory  Can  a 
Salesman  Cover? — Territory  Analyzed  on  a  Consumer 
Basis — Jobbing  Centers  and  Their  Relation  to  Sales 
Territory — Territory  as  Related  to  Routes  of  Freight 
Transport — Special  Conditions  of  Big  City  Territory — 
Territorial  Sales'  Organizations — An  Efficient  Layout 
of  National  Sales'  Districts — The  Districts  and  Their 
Boundaries  and  Natural  Centers — Data  Needed  Con- 
cerning Sales'  Districts — Reduction  of  Sales'  Terri- 
tory— Applying  the  Per  Capita  Measure — Fitting  the 
Territory  to  the  Salesman. 

XII.    The  Selection  op  Salesmen 124 

Why  Salesmen  Are  Difficult  to  Select — Can  Salesmen  Be 
Picked  from  Appearance? — The  Use  of  Application 
Forms  —  Need  for  Applying  Scientific  Test  to 
Applicants  —Principal  Native  Qualities  Generally 
Agreed  to  Essential  for  Salesmen — "Star"  Salesmen 
versus  Average  Salesmen — Preference  for  Young 
"Green"  Material — Selecting  Salesmen  Who  Can  Sell 
Policies  as  Well  as  Merchandise — Selecting  Salesmen  to 
Fit  Type  of  Men  They  Will  Sell  To. 

XIII.  Methods  op  Payinq  Salesmen  ....     138 

Difficulties  and  Problems  in  Salesmen's  Compensation — 
Relation  of  Compensation  to  Type  of  Man  Required  and 
His  Living  Standards — Salary  or  Commission,  or 
Both? — Some  Defects  of  the  Salary-and-Commission 
Plan — How  to  Shape  a  Thoroughgoing  Plan  of  Com- 
pensation— Importance  of  Equality  and  Uniformity — 
Plan  for  Automatic  Salary  Raises — Crediting  Mail 
Sales  and  UncoUectable  Accounts — "Drawing  Ac- 
counts"— Handling  Compensation  of  Juniors — The 
"Piece  Work,"  or  "Task  and  Bonus"  Idea  in  Selling. 

XIV.  Prizes,  Bonus  and  Stimulation  Plans  for  Salesmen  .     151 

The  Basic  Need  for  Stimulation — Differences  Between 
Staple  and  Specialty  Salesmen — The  Various  Forms  of 
Stimulation  to  Choose  From — Some  Typical  Bonus  and 
Contest  Plans — Honor  Alone  as  Stimulation  and  Incen- 
tive— Merchandise  as  Reward — The  Quota  Plan — 
Sound  Principles  for  Operating  Contests — Peculiar 
Types  of  Contests — Bulletins,  Letters,  House  Organs  as 
Stimulators — Stock  Participation  and  Profit-Sharing — 
Utilizing  the  Game  Instinct. 

XV.    The  Scientific  Point  System  for  Quotas  and  Contests    167 
Reasons  for  Development  of  Point  System — Instruc- 


XVI 


CONTENTS 


XVI. 


XVII. 


XVIII. 


XIX. 


XX. 


tions  for  Operating  Point  System  —  Applications  of 
the  Point  System  —  Territory  Factors  Measurable 
by  Means  of  Point  System — Merchandise  Factors 
Measurable  by  Point  System  —  Special  Reward 
Factors  Measurable  by  Point  System. 

Sales  Conventions,  Lectubes  and  Conferences  .  175 
How  the  Sales  Convention  Developed— Illustration 
of  Exceptionally  Elaborate  Convention  —  Making 
Conventions  Profitable  and  Practical  —  Correct 
Physical  Arrangements — Promptness  and  Dispatch 
— Importance  of  Food  and  Drink  Problem — Making 
a  Successful  Program 

Managing  Salesmen's  Temperaments  and  Habits  .  183 
The  Salesman  Type  of  Mind  and  Its  Needs — Develop- 
ment and  Maintenance  of  Self-F'~ith — Adjusting 
Salesmen  to  Organization  Work — Overcoming  Too 
Great  Obsession  by  Competition — Correcting  Erro- 
neous Notions  That  Salesmen  Develop — Wrong  Tra- 
ditions and  Superstitions  Among  Salesmen — Dealing 
with  the  Question  of  Drink  and  Over-Fondness  for 
Women — Salesmanagers  and  Their  Attitude  to  Habits 
and  Superstitions. 

Sales  School  and  Training  Methods  .  .  .  197 
The  Reasons  Behind  Intensive  Sales  Training — Why 
More  Sales  Schools  Have  Not  Been  Established — 
Preventing  Sales  Schools  from  "Pauperizing  Sales- 
men"— The  Type  of  Instructors  Necessary — Methods 
and  Curriculums  —  Examinations  and  Certificates 
of  Passage. 

Sales  Strategy       .......     205 

The  Right  Definition  of  Selling  Strategy — The  Various 
Kinds  of  Strategy — Direct  Action  or  "Offensive" 
Strategy — Indirect  Strategy — Secret  Action  Strategy 
— Complicated  Series  Strategy — Confusing  or  "Feint" 
Strategy  — •  Wedge  Action  Strategy  —  Defensive 
Strategy — Educational  Strategy — Time  Annihilation 
Strategy — Good-will  Strategy — Distribution  Strategy 
— Domination  Strategy — "Caveat"  Strategy. 


The  Service  Principle  in  Selling 

Service  as  the  Central  Keynote  in  Sales  Building — 
Goods  Must  Render  the  Service  the  Customer  Expects 
of  Them — Service  Should  Be  Rendered  Spontan- 
eously— Promises  Should  Be  Unconditionally  Made 


221 


CONTENTS  xvii 

OHAPTBB  PAQB 

Good — Service  Should  Be  Without  Risk  or  In- 
convenience to  the  Customer — Service,  to  be  Efficient, 
Should  Be  Rendered  Entirely  from  the  Point  of 
View  of  the  Customer — Service  Should  Provide  Full 
Technical  Information  and  Advice  —  Service  Should 
Express  Personal  Relationship — Service  Should  Be 
Closely  Defined  and  Definitely  Stated. 
XXI.  The  Development  op  Good-Will  ....  230 
Definition  of  Good-will — The  Nature  of  Good-will — 
Good-will  and  Advertising  Departments — Indirect 
Developers  of  Good-will — Cooperation  in  the  Develop- 
ment of  Good-will — Legal  Protection  of  Good-will — 
Measurement  of  Good-will  —  Appraising  Good-will. 

XXII.    Sales  Administration  and  Budgeting    .         .         .     236 
The  Sales  Department  as  an  Administrative  Problem 
— Administration  Problems  Defined — The  Sales  Bud- 
get— The  General  Sales  Quota — Budgeting  a  Quota. 

XXIII.  Selling  Cost  and  Expense 244 

The  General  Situation  in  Sales  Cost — What  Properly 
Is  "Sales  Cost"? — Common  Errors  in  Sales  Cost 
Figuring — Sales  Cost  and  Fixity  of  Demand— The 
Cost  of  Aggressive  Selling — Volume  in  Relation  to 
Sales  Cost — The  Vital  Matter  of  General  Costs — 
Data  on  Profits — Costs  and  Profits  Traced  to  In- 
dividual Salesmen. 

XXIV.  Practical  Salesmanship  Principles        .         .         .     255 

What  is  Salesmanship? — The  Feeling  Accompanying 
Every  Idea  or  Impression — Watching  the  Buyers' 
Facial  Expressions — The  "Approach"  Arousing  In- 
terest— -Reaching  the  Prospect's  Mind  Through  the 
Five  Senses — Developing  Conviction — Leading  Points 
of  Sales  Appeal — Adjusting  the  Appeal  to  the  Prospect 
— Studying  the  Prospect — Analyzing  Physical  Ap- 
pearance: Forehead  and  Eyes — Analyzing  Physical 
Appearance:  Lips,  Chin,  etc.  —  Speech  and  Acts — 
Working  Toward  a  "Close" — The  Fine  Art  of 
"Closing." 

XXV.  Standardizing  the  Work  op  Selling  .  .  .  269 
Why  Selling  Requires  Standardizing— Standardizing 
House  Policy — The  Sales  Manual — Table  of  Con- 
tents for  the  Sales  Manual — Ideal  Plan  for  Contents 
of  Sales  Manual — Standardizing  Salesmen's  Equip- 
ment— Standardization  Through  Symbols — Standard- 
izing Salesmen's  "  Jumps  " — Standardized  Definitions. 


XVlll 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTIB 

XXTL. 


XXVII. 


Interlocking  Sales  and  Advertising  Effort  .  .  278 
Should  Functions  of  Sales  and  Advertising  Manager 
be  Combined? — Sales  and  Advertising  Differences 
Defined  —  Organization  —  Position  of  Sales  and 
Advertising  Department  —  Viseing  of  Advertising 
Copy  by  the  Sales  Department — Increasing  the 
Salesmen's  Knowledge  of  Advertising — Advertising 
Cooperation  Through  the  Sales  Manual — Making 
Salesmen  Sell  Advertising  Assistance  Rather  Than 
Merchandise — Salesmen  and  Dealer  Help  Adver- 
tising— Salesmen's  Cooperation  with  Advertising 
Inquiries — Advertising's  Part  in  Sales  Conferences 
and  Conventions  —  Advertising  to  Cut  Down 
Introductory  Sales  Expenses. 

The  Study  op  Aggressive  Retail  Merchandising  290 
Why  Retail  Merchandising  Insight  is  Essential  in 
Salesmanagement — SeUing  Sales,  Not  Goods,  to 
Dealers — Surveys  of  Retail  Possible  Business — 
Getting  Power  and  Punch  Out  of  Advertising — 
Equipping  Sales  People  to  Push  Goods — Profit- 
Sharing  for  Salespeople — Getting  Salespeople  to 
Think — Fighting  Invisible  Competition  —  Decrease 
Cost  of  Doing  Retail  Business — The  Turn-over — 
Departmented  and  Itemized  Costs — Increasing  the 
Avera2;e  of  Sale. 


XXVIII.    Working  with  the  Jobber  ....     303 

Necessity  of  Carefully  Laid  Jobber  Policy— The 
Missionary  Plan  of  Assisting  Jobbers — The  Size 
of  the  Jobber's  "Spread"  as  an  Inducement — 
Interesting  a  Jobber  in  a  New  Article — Special 
Methods  of  Influencing  Jobber  Salesmen. 

XXIX.  Stimulating  and  Assisting  the  Dealer  .  .311 
The  Manufacturer's  Partnership  with  the  Dealer — 
Stimulation  with  National  Advertising — SjTichron- 
izing  Dealer  Cooperation  with  the  Appearance  of 
Advertising — Local  Advertising  at  the  Expense  of 
the  Manufacturer  or  Half  and  Half — Miscellaneous 
Dealer  Helps — House-Organ  for  Stimulating 
Dealers — Special  Day  and  Week  Plans — Window 
Display  Plans  and  Service — Bonus  and  Certificate 
Plans — Clerk  Education — Salesman-at-Large. 

XXX.    Sales  System  and  Graphic  Records   .         .         .328 
Visualizing  the  Sales  Field— Map  and  Tacks  and 


CONTENTS 


XIX 


XXXI. 


XXXII. 


XXXIII. 


XXXIV. 


Other  Graphic  Ss^tems — Unit  Order  Forms — Sales- 
men's Report  Blank — Salesmen's  Route  List  and 
Route  Maps — Detailed  Summaries — ^Expense  Re- 
ports and  Expense  Accounts — Memorandum 
Forms — General  Records  that  a  Sales  Office  Should 
Have. 

Sales  Engineering;  Investigations  and  Surveys  338 
Applying  Engineering  Standards  to  Sales  Work — 
Market  Investigations — Analytical  Procedure  for  a 
New  Article — Why  Investigations  Should  Be  Made 
by  Outsiders — Canvassing  and  Tabulating  Trade 
Sentiment — Statistics  of  Distribution — Future  Con- 
sumption Surveys — General  Sales  Surveys — Check- 
ing Sales  Work — Analysis  of  General  Basic  Factors. 

The  Statistics  op  Salesmanagement  .  .  .  348 
The  Correct  Attitude  Toward  Statistics — The 
Two  Main  Classes  of  Statistics — Per  Capita  Con- 
sumption Statistics — The  "Saturation  Point" — The 
Law  of  Averages — Scope  of  Use  of  Averages — The 
Psychology  of  Statistics — The  Law  of  Diminishing 
Returns — Analogy  and  Statistics — The  Law  of 
Statistical  Regularity. 

Imagination  and  Vision       .....     364 
Feeling    Out    the    Future — Unforeseen    Develop- 
ments— Reserve  Resources — Watching   Formative 
Periods — The  Great  Power  of  Ideas — Laying  Pro- 
tective Lines. 


The  Story  op  an  Actual  Selling  Campaign  . 
Reason  for  Describing  an  Actual  Campaign,  and  for 
Selecting  This  One — The  Strategic  Situation  Before 
the  Campaign  Started — The  Prehminary  Plan  to 
Get  and  Popularize  Quickly  a  New  Name — The 
Preliminary  Trade  Work — Results  of  the  Contest — • 
After  the  Name  was  Selected — Strategic  Deduc- 
tions from  the  Campaign  —  Ready  Now  for  the 
Big  Campaign — The  Three- Year  Plan  of  Growth 
— Signed  Cooperation  by  Dealers — Conditions  for 
Becoming  a  "Blue  List  Dealer" — Checking  a  "Fall 
Down"  by  Salesmen — The  Campaign  Outlined  in 
Detail — How  the  Sales  Promotion  Department 
Operates — Principles  Behind  Successful  Sales  Pro- 
motion Department. 


370 


MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

CHAPTER  I 

THE  SALESMANAGER  HIMSELF  AND  HIS  POINT  OF  VIEW 

1.  What  He  is  Tip  Against. — Above  all  else,  success  in 
salesmanagement  demands  a  trained  point  of  view.  Boldly 
analyzed,  the  difference  between  unsuccessful,  mediocre 
and  completely  successful  salesmanagement  is,  first  of  all, 
a  matter  of  point  of  view.  Things  are  possible  or  im- 
possible according  to  how  the  salesmanager  looks  at  them 
and  acts  about  them. 

It  is  quite  natural  that  this  should  be  so,  because  selling 
success  must  depend  primarily  on  states  of  mind.  Every 
other  department  of  business  deals  mainly  with  things  that 
can  be  seen  and  measured  and  touched.  The  point  of  view 
is  not  so  important  as  the  technical  facts.  Selling,  on  the 
other  hand,  deals  almost  exclusively,  with  ideas,  images, 
imagination,  and  the  semi-mysteries  of  the  human  equa- 
tion. People  buy  what  their  feelings,  ideas  and  desires 
suggest. 

A  salesman  does  not,  primarily,  sell  merchandise  to  a  cus- 
tomer— he  sells  rather  the  hope  and  expectation  of  profit 
or  pleasure  or  something  else.  Therefore  a  salesmanager  at 
the  very  outset  of  his  job  faces  subtleties  and  puzzles  of  the 
hardest  possible  kind,  with  only  exceedingly  limited  tech- 
nical knowledge  available.  His  attitude  toward  these 
problems — his  conscientiousness  in  securing  all  such  facta 
which  are  possible  to  get  before  making  a  judgment;  his 

1 


2  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

open-minded  zeal  for  probing  to  the  bottom  of  true  condi- 
tions ;  his  courage,  his  persistence,  his  energy  and  resource- 
fulness— all  these  qualities  count  in  a  manner  far  more 
telling  than  in  most  other  executive  positions.  It  is  for 
this  reason,  perhaps,  that  successful  salesmanagers  as  a  class 
are  usually  splendid  "men  of  parts,"  for  the  work  posi- 
tively demands  broad  and  varied  powers. 

Almost  every  kind  of  information  about  people  and 
economic  conditions  bears  some  possible  meaning  to  the 
salesmanager.  He  is,  in  fact,  a  student  and  a  shaper  of 
economic  life,  because  if  his  job  were  stated  in  plain  lan- 
guage, it  would  be  that  he  is  an  educator  of  the  public 
to  an  improved  idea  of  some  sort,  which  it  is  slow  to  adopt. 
(The  public  is,  of  course,  practically  always  slow  to  adopt 
ideas,  and  always  requires  to  be  "sold"  by  a  gradual  proc- 
ess of  education.) 

A  point  of  view  may  be,  and  often  is,  the  only  thing 
standing  in  the  way  of  decisive  sales  success.  This  is 
illustrated  by  the  great  slowness  with  which  adding  ma- 
chines were  bought  when  they  were  sold  merely  as  a  me-' 
chanical  device  which  would  add  and  multiply.  When  the 
adding  machine  selling  idea  was  hitched  on  to  the  idea  of 
better  business  method  and  system  (in  which  the  adding 
machine  naturally  played  an  essential  part)  sales  began 
immediately  to  spurt  forward.  The  change  had  been  sim- 
ply one  of  the  point  of  view  of  the  salesmanager,  who 
himself  had  merely  successfully  analyzed  the  point  of 
view  of  the  customer.  The  frontal  attack  with  mechanical 
arguments  of  excellence  had  produced  little  results;  there- 
fore logic  suggested  an  indirect  attack  with  a  general  idea 
which  would  of  necessity  carry  the  adding  machine  with  it. 

2.  Personal  Qualities  Essential  in  Salesmanagers. — In  the 
light  of  the  above  statements  regarding  the  importance  of 
point  of  view,  it  is  easy  to  see  why  in  the  past  such  great 
stress  has  been  laid  upon  the  personality  of  the  salesman- 


THE  SALESMANAGER  HIMSELF  3 

ager:  Personality  is  so  closely  bound  up  with  point  of 
view.  Naturally,  however,  some  crude  rules-of-thumb 
ideas  have  prevailed.  For  instance,  it  has  come  to  be  a 
tradition  that  first  of  all  a  salesmanager  must  be  "an  op- 
timist"; otherwise  he  would  too  easily  be  discouraged. 
This  tradition  is  a  sample  of  the  half-truth  which  circu- 
lates in  the  name  of  knowledge  of  salesmanagement.  Op- 
timism may  be  as  great  a  drawback  in  successful  salesman- 
agement as  pessimism,  although  this  fact  is  not  generally 
recognized.  Given  the  other  qualities  which  make  suc- 
cessful salesmanagers,  a  pessimist  will  outdistance  an  opti- 
mist, simply  because,  not  having  so  great  a  faith  in  magic 
and  in  luck,  he  will  work  the  harder  and  look  facts  more 
squarely  in  the  face. 

The  same  is  true  of  some  of  the  other  qualities  which 
tradition  attributes  to  the  successful  salesmanager,  such 
as  "enthusiasm"  and  "confidence  in  himself."  These 
qualities  have  their  importance  and  worth,  and  have  made 
profit  for  many  businesses  through  their  sheer,  unintelli- 
gent force ;  for  of  course  enthusiasm  and  confidence  in 
one's  self  have  a  certain  amount  of  propelling  power.  But 
it  should  be  clearly  understood  that  these  "qualities"  are 
really  not  consciously  controllable  qualities  at  all,  but 
rather  emoiions.  Like  all  other  emotions,  therefore,  they 
are  raw  materials  for  the  directing  power  of  will  and  in- 
telligence to  use,  but  are  very  uncertain  and  inadequate 
when  depended  upon  alone.  It  is  because  of  this  fact  that 
salesmen  and  salesmanagers  have  the  reputation  of  being 
highly  temperamental,  with  many  "ups  and  downs"  and 
tender  sensibilities.  The  blunt  truth  is  that  while  success 
may  be  obtained  from  salesmen  who  have  these  emotions, 
if  guided  by  a  will  and  an  intelligence,  nevertheless  no 
really  important  enterprise  of  selling  can  be  made  per- 
manently successful  by  dependence  on  a  salesmanager  who 
has  such  qualities  alone.     Wherever  may  be  found  sue- 


4  MODERN  SALESIVIANAGEMENT 

ccssful  salesmanagers  possessing  these  qualities,  without 
also  dominating  intelligence  and  will,  there  is  sure  to  be 
found  an  executive  higher  up  who  supplies  the  deficiency. 
In  fact  it  is  a  common  situation  (and  an  unsound  one) 
to  find  a  salesmanager  who  has  only  part  of  the  right 
mental  equipment  for  salesmanagement,  while  an  executive 
higher  up  is  the  real  brains  and  directing  power. 

The  really  able  and  successful  salesmanager,  who  is  self- 
propelling  and  self-sustaining,  and  who  has  all  the  ele- 
ments which  his  work  calls  for,  needs  or  must  have  the 
following  qualities  and  abilities : 

1.  Cool,  analytical  intelligence. 

2.  Strong,  dynamic  will. 

3.  Trained  merchandising  instinct. 

4.  Organizing  ability. 

5.  Capacity  for  understanding  the  consuming  public 
and  general  human  nature. 

These  are  the  vital  and  decisive  characteristics.  There 
are  of  course  other  qualities  which  are  important,  such  as 
personality,  special  experience,  etc. 

What  is  desired  here,  however,  is  to  emphasize  the  point 
of  view  which  is  so  all-important  in  salesmanagement  suc- 
cess. Salesmanagers  who  lack  some  of  the  less  important 
qualities  may  still  achieve  striking  success  if  they  have  the 
qualities  and  points  of  view  above  outlined;  whereas  un- 
less they  possess  such  qualities  and  points  of  view  they 
are  very  likely  to  fail,  or  at  least  to  fall  short  of  possible 
success. 

While  it  is  quite  true  that  few  men  acquire  the  above 
mentioned  qualities  late  in  life  and  are  usually  bom  with 
aptitude  in  these  directions,  nevertheless  it  is  exceedingly 
incorrect  to  say  that  salesmen  and  salesmanagers  are 
' '  born. ' '  Many  who  are  bom  with  aptitudes  for  the  above 
qualities    are    nevertheless    poor    salesmanagers,  because 


THE  SALESMANAGER  HIMSELF  5 

training  and  coordination  of  ability  are  far  more  impor- 
tant than  the  mere  aptitudes  alone. 

3.  The  Analytical  Point  of  Yi&w. — Whenever  any  piece 
of  work  has  difficult  and  intangible  elements  in  it,  anal- 
ysis becomes  the  primary  requirement  of  success.  This 
is  decidedly  the  case  with  salesmanagement,  as  it  is  now 
required  in  a  country  like  ours  where  selling  is  completely 
national  and  even  international,  and  where  economic  con- 
ditions, laws  and  competitive  strategy  invariably  compli- 
cate any  selling  situation. 

An  unanalytical  salesmanager  whose  chief  asset  is  en- 
thusiasm, optimism  and  confidence  is  quite  able  to  mal^e 
a  good  showing  in  purely  local  territory,  or  in  a  limited 
territory  the  salesmen  in  which  he  can  frequently  person- 
ally inspire.  But  he  quite  naturally  finds  himself  beyond 
his  depth  when  asked  to  cope  with  markets  far  away, 
conditions  foreign  and  unknown  to  him,  and  with  intri- 
cate organization  and  distribution  questions,  to  say  noth- 
ing of  subtle  public  psychology  factors  which  are  too  deep 
for  his  visual  and  personal  type  of  mind.  He  cannot 
understand  what  he  does  not  see  concretely  before  him; 
he  has  not  a  mind  that  can  generalize  and  synthesize. 

The  conditions  of  marketing  to-day  create  a  hundred  and 
one  general  problems,  calling  for  wise  practical  thinking. 
Where  the  old  type  salesmanager  could  decide  on  a  basis 
of  temporary  expedience,  the  new  type  salesmanager  must 
decide  on  a  basis  of  enduring  principle.  In  a  modern 
selling  and  distributive  organization  too  many  forces  of 
importance  must  be  balanced  to  admit  of  the  use  of  much 
expedience.  Principle  alone  can  harmonize  and  reconcile 
warring  elements.  Sometimes  compromise  is  entirely  in- 
advisable and  impossible,  and  long  and  expensive  battles 
for  a  principle  must  be  waged — like  the  battle  which  a 
great  breakfast  food  house  fought  for  years  against  quan- 
tity price.     It  takes  wise  and  patient  analysis  to  reach 


6  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

important  conclusions  on  principle,  or  to  adjust  standard 
commercial  principles  and  policies  to  particular  situations. 
It  takes  also  courage  and  vision  and  long-range  planning. 

It  is  a  truism,  therefore,  that  success  in  salesmanship 
is  largely  in  ratio,  first,  to  the  faculty  for  successful  anal- 
ysis ;  second,  to  the  power  of  shaping  correct  policies  based 
on  such  analysis;  and,  third,  to  campaigning  ability  to 
carry  out  such  policies. 

Successful  salesmanagers  to-day,  therefore,  are  either  per- 
sonally acquiring  this  ability  of  analysis,  or  if  they  pos- 
sess little  of  it,  are  supplementing  themselves  with  the 
best  facilities  and  talent  for  analytical  ability.  Not  only 
the  broad  scope  of  selling  and  the  complications  of  dis- 
tribution demand  this  analytical  ability,  but  also  the 
growth  of  the  business.  Size  alone  creates  its  own  compli- 
cations. A  small  business  has  a  less  apparent  need  for 
analytical  ability  (although  in  reality  its  need  is  even, 
greater).  But  a  big  business  just  naturally  brings  to  the 
salesmanager's  desk  each  day  questions  which  are  not  only 
Greek  to  any  but  an  analytical  mind,  but  are  also  ques- 
tions upon  the  answers  to  which  the  company  may  hinge 
the  expenditure  of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars. 
Error  of  judgment  may  be  fraught  with  tremendous  ex- 
pense. As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  is  now  recognized  among 
the  ablest  business  men  as  utterly  wrong  in  principle  that 
any  man  or  men,  sitting  around  a  table  and  using  merely 
their  judgment  (without  the  utmost  data  which  may  be 
obtained)  should  assume  to  decide  questions  of  importance. 
The  percentage  of  possible  error  is  too  great.  No  engi- 
neering profession  would  dare  so  to  risk  its  reputation. 
Nor  is  it  necessary.  Modern  investigation  and  analytical 
facilities  make  it  possible  to  get  vital  data  on  any  com- 
mercial subject  which  will  bring  business  judgment  far 
nearer  to  100%  accuracy.  Personal  "intuitive"  convic- 
tion, pride  of  opinion  and  vanity  of  decision  are  not  qual- 


THE  SALESMANAGER  HIMSELF  7 

ities  which  make  for  highest  business  ability,  especially 
in  salesmanagement. 

In  a  later  chapter  will  be  given  specific  details  and 
modes  of  procedure  in  practical  analysis;  the  author  here 
simply  wishes  to  focus  attention  upon  the  part  analysis 
plays  in  the  successful  salesmanagement  point  of  view. 
Salesmanagement  is,  after  all,  rather  comparable  to  mili- 
tary planning;  both  depend  supremely  upon  careful  ad- 
justment to  fact.  It  is,  of  course,  well  known  that  no 
general  can  make  a  more  deadly  mistake  than  to  move 
his  troops  and  his  guns  upon  the  enemy  on  so  puerile  a 
basis  as  optimism  or  enthusiasm  alone.  He  must  execute 
every  move  from  specific  information,  with  a  larger  plan 
of  strategy  and  analysis  both  behind  it  and  before  it.  The 
greatest  military  strategists  of  the  world  war  are  men  in 
whom  analysis  is  the  very  first  quality  that  shines  out. 
The  great  objectives  of  salesmanagement  cannot  be  won 
by  qualities  less  thorough  or  campaigns  less  seriously 
planned  and  balanced  than  those  of  war. 

4.  The  Dynamic  Point  of  View.— Of  almost  equal  impor- 
tance to  analytical  ability  in  a  salesmanager  is  the  dynamic 
power  to  act  upon  the  findings  of  analysis.  It  is  a  com- 
mon human  failure  to  be  dilatory  about  making  a  deci- 
sion when  the  facts  are  in  hand ;  and  also  to  act  upon  the 
decision  when  it  is  made.  It  is  said  of  Napoleon  that  al- 
though his  patience  and  energy  in  ferreting  out  facts  was 
very  great  indeed,  his  genius  was  most  apparent  through 
his  lightning-like  rapidity  in  carrying  into  effect  a  policy 
after  it  was  decided.  He  rushed  his  decision  into  action 
with  the  greatest  possible  haste,  knowing  that  if  action 
on  a  decision  is  delayed,  the  decision  itself  soon  becomes 
obsolete. 

Patience  and  indefatigable  care  in  getting  at  the  facts, 
but  tigerlike  vigor  and  swiftness  in  executing  decisions 
are    both    vital    elements    of    salesmanagement    success. 


8  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

Whereas  most  other  departments  of  business  call  for  dy- 
namic force  only  in  a  rather  routine  and  limited  manner, 
salesmanagement,  on  the  other  hand,  presents  to  the  sales- 
manager  an  unlimited  challenge  to  conquer  indifferent  or 
hostile  markets ;  a  challenge  which  means  nothing  but  en- 
counter, struggle  and  supremo  resistance  in  a  cold  and 
unfriendly  field.  As  in  warfare,  the  offensive  is  ever  the 
strongest  policy,  and  should  never  be  relinquished  if  pos- 
sible. The  salesnianager,  of  all  business  executives,  needs 
to  be  "a  fighter" — a  will  and  a  power  for  action.  Many 
concerns  suffer  from  a  lack  of  a  completely  dynamic  policy 
which  may  be  due  either  to  the  salesmanager  or  the  limi- 
tations placed  on  him  from  above.  Some  such  firms  are 
resting  upon  the  achievements  of  a  former  executive  head 
who  lifted  the  business  to  a  certain  level ;  others  have  come 
to  success  upon  the  high  tide  of  a  rising  industry  (such 
as  steel  and  machinery)  and  are  doing  well  without  putting 
forth  much  dynamic  effort.  Others  still  are  in  the  dan- 
gerous state  of  having  allowed  a  certain  measure  of  suc- 
cesss  to  drug  their  ambitions  and  energies.  A  firm  which 
has  made  money  for  its  owners  is  apt  to  ask  why  it  should 
take  the  risk  and  make  the  extensions  of  effort  and  capital 
necessary  to  reap  the  amount  of  success  which  lies  ready 
at  hand.  Others  of  still  another  variety  suffer  from  in- 
decisiveness,  lack  of  working  capital,  nepotism,  incapacity 
or  unwillingness  to  adjust  to  changed  conditions,  etc.  The 
tonic  medicine  needed  most  in  all  such  cases  is  sheer  dy- 
namic force  put  just  behind  a  well-planned  campaign, 
based  upon  intelligent  analysis. 

Business  history  is  full  of  instances  of  the  sales  marvels 
that  are  achieved  by  a  proper  combination  of  salesman- 
agement qualities  backed  up  by  strong  dynamic  ability. 
It  is  a  commonplace  of  American  business  now  to  hear  of 
sales  success  against  all  odds  and  all  predictions  and  prece- 
dents.    An  instance  is  that  of  a  firm  which  manufactures 


THE  SALESMANAGER  HIMSELF  9 

coTintry-electric-ligliting  plants.  Against  all  precedence 
and  advice  from  those  who  were  in  the  very  best  position 
to  know,  this  firm,  headed  by  a  salesmanager  who  had 
both  the  analytical  ability  to  see  what  needed  to  be  done, 
and  also  the  dynamic  courage  to  carry  it  through  to  a 
finish,  sold  more  electric-lighting  plants  in  one  year  than 
the  scores  of  other  manufacturers  in  the  field  had  sold  in 
the  past  fourteen  years. 

It  is  valuable  for  purposes  of  study  to  dissect  dynamic 
power — the  "punch,"  "pep"  and  "ginger"  of  common 
business  parlance. 

Dynamic  ability  salesmanagement  consists  simply  of  a 
plentiful  supply  of  intense  purpose  and  well  directed  en- 
ergy for  obeying  the  decisions  which  the  analytical  mind 
has  prepared.  It  is  also  very  important  to  know  that 
scatteration  of  energy  and  will  is  the  deadly  enemy  of 
successful  dynamic  ability;  and  concentration  of  it  is  the 
keynote  of  its  success.  Every  ounce  of  such  dynamic 
energy  which  is  not  directed  toward  carrying  out  the 
coldly  analyzed  plan  is  waste-energy.  Salesmanagers  some- 
times fume  and  sputter  with  energy  in  a  way  that  simply 
scatters  it  into  the  air.  They  believe  they  are  intensely 
dynamic;  not  realizing  that  the  most  dynamic  men  are 
usually  the  most  calm  and  apparently  cold  men.  A  sales 
organization  is  an  almost  uncanny  way  takes  its  cue  from 
the  salesmanager.  The  result  with  a  salesmanager  who 
cannot  economize  and  concentrate  is  a  great  appearance 
of  motion,  but  very  little  result.  Effective  dynamic  action 
in  managing  a  sales  organization  demands  a  coolly  dynamic 
salesmanager  with  his  hand  firmly  but  calmly  on  the  throt- 
tle, dealing  out  the  "steam"  with  a  calculating  and  eco- 
nomical hand,  with  as  little  noise  but  as  high  effectiveness 
as  possible. 

Just  plain  courage  and  "nerve"  are  more  of  the  primi- 
tive emotional  qualities  which  in  the  past  have  been  im- 


10  LrODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

portant  in  salesmanagement.  To-day  courage  must  be  in- 
telligent and  nerve  must  be  not  a  gamble  but  a  cool  cal- 
culation from  facts.  To  ''do  and  to  dare"  in  selling  has 
a  boyish  merit,  but  usually  is  boyish  also  in  its  limited  re- 
sults, unless  masterfully  calculated. 

It  is  the  mark  of  a  high  degree  of  dynamic  power  when 
a  salesmanager  refuses  to  be  satisfied  that  a  thing  "can- 
not be  done"  until  he  has  all  the  facts;  then  tested  the 
facts,  and  then  satisfied  himself  that  he  can't  change  the 
facts. 

It  is  quite  true  that  with  the  greatly  increased  compli- 
cations and  factors  entering  into  the  broader  and  bigger 
salesmanagement  of  to-day,  it  is  a  difiicult  task  to  assemble 
facts,  make  decisions,  "sell"  these  decisions  to  the  "men 
higher  up";  keep  up  a  nation-wide  organization  to  con- 
cert pitch  and  use  all  the  intricate  arts  and  instruments 
of  salesmanagement  in  a  well  coordinated,  business-like 
campaign  that  hits  the  mark.  Many  able  salesmanagers 
can  succeed  when  they  are  "given  a  free  hand"  to  "work 
in  their  own  way" — simply  because  they  cannot  be  dy- 
namic except  in  an  individual  and  personal  way — which  is 
always  a  limited  way.  Such  salesmanagers  need  to  leam 
not  only  to  be  dynamic  themselves  but  how  to  induce  dy- 
namics in  others  and  maintain  them.  In  other  words,  how 
to  organize  dynamic  power, 

5.  The  Right  Organization  Point  of  View. — Sales  organ- 
ization is  the  house  sales  policy,  and  the  salesmanager 
himself  expressed  in  terms  of  so  many  additional  hands 
and  feet  and  eyes  and  ears.  The  exact  degree  to  which 
these  extra  extensions  of  himself  really  represent  his  own 
idea  of  power  and  punch,  and  the  house  plan  and  policy, 
to  that  degree  does  a  salesmanager  have  a  good  sales  or- 
ganization. The  salesmanager  who  has  not  achieved  the 
organization  point  of  view  is  doomed  to  experience  a 
limited  and  narrow  scope  career  for  himself  and  limited 


THE  SALESMANAGER  HIMSELF  11 

sales  for  his  house.  A  man  has  only  two  hands  and  two 
feet  and  one  tongue.  The  possible  individual  achievementt 
of  one  salesmanager,  no  matter  how  gifted,  are  as  limited 
as  the  achievements  of  a  one-man  retail  shop,  unless  he 
can  make  an  organization. 

This  is  the  Rubicon  which  many  salesmanagers  are 
never  able  to  cross.  They  may  successfully  manage  a  lim- 
ited group  of  salesmen,  but  that  is  far  from  being  suc- 
cessful in  an  organization  sense,  or  achieving  the  true  or- 
ganization point  of  view.  A  considerable  number  of  sales- 
managers  rule  the  salesman  under  them  not  by  organiza- 
tion ability  but  by  such  other  things  as  fear,  imitation  and 
personal  example,  love  and  good  fellowship.  None  of  these 
are  to  be  relied  upon  as  the  right  plan  of  salesmanagement, 
for  the  very  simple  and  obvious  reason  that  they  are  too 
personal — they  are  bound  up  in  the  personality  of  the 
salesmanager,  and  disappear  or  change  when  a  salesman- 
ager changes — a  most  unsound  organization  situation. 

Now,  the  very  first  organization  point  of  view  vital  to 
a  truly  modern  salesmanager  is  to  pare  dowTi  his  personal 
vanity,  if  necessary,  to  a  point  where  he  fully  understands 
that  he  represents  a  function  in  his  firm's  business  organ- 
ization; \iha,t  unless  he  functions  as  a  part  of  that  organi- 
zation solely  in  that  organization's  permanent  interest,  he 
is  disloyal  to  the  organization.  He  is  certainly  disloyal 
unless  he  binds  his  salesmen's  loyalty  to  the  house  rather 
than  to  himself.  He  must  do  this  very  definitely  in  small 
things  as  well  as  large,  and  have  almost  a  military  pre- 
ciseness  and  punctiliousness  about  it  in  order  to  succeed. 

But  even  a  good  organizer  of  a  group  of  salesmen 
may  fail  to  understand  the  great  importance  of  sound 
organization:  (1)  as  applied  to  his  office  and  branch  or 
district  organization;  (2)  as  applied  to  his  distributors 
(dealers  and  jobbers);    (3)  as  applied  to  the  coordination 


12  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

of  all  parts  of  his  organization  into  a  single  hard-hitting 
effort. 

Some  salesmanagers  develop,  consciously  or  uncon- 
sciously, into  one-sided  organization  men.  They  are  good 
organizers  of  salesmen,  or  neat  and  systematic  ofSce  exec- 
utives but  lack  the  other  important  elements,  and  rather 
resent  the  suggestion  to  improve  in  these  directions.  This 
is  fatal  and  costly  limitation.  Organization  is  in  itself  a 
rather  extensive  technical  study,  and  is  absolutely  essen- 
tial to  broad-gauge  salesmanagement  success.  Particularly 
is  this  true  of  success  in  building  and  maintaining  a  dis- 
tributive organization  of  dealers  and  jobbers,  because  they 
are  not  the  paid  hirelings  of  the  firm  who  can  be  ordered 
to  do  things — their  invaluable  assistance  must  be  won, 
by  the  right  policies.  Discrimination,  vacillation,  tactless- 
ness, delay,  stiffness,  etc.,  in  policies  and  methods  break 
down  an  organization;  while  firmly  maintained  policies 
of  equity  in  terms  and  dealings,  and  courteous  service- 
ful  relationships  knit  an  organization  together. 

A  successful  broad-gauge  salesmanager  must  have  a  very 
keen  constructive  sense  of  organization  in  order  to  shape 
wise  and  winning  policies.  Large  business  can  only  be 
built,  as  a  rule,  by  securing  the  maximum  voluntary  co- 
operation of  many  thousands  of  retail  and  wholesale  units. 
How  to  inspire  them  all  to  work  vigorously  in  unison  is 
the  most  important  item  in  many  a  salesmanager 's  pro- 
gram. He  can  only  succeed  if  he  sees  the  matter  from  the 
human  and  broad-gauge  point  of  ^dew,  deciding  on  prin- 
ciple, not  on  expedience,  and  keeping  his  mind  open  con- 
stantly to  new  aspects  of  the  selling  situation. 

61.  Trained  Merchandising  Instinct. — ^When  the  selling  or 
"trading  instinct"  in  a  man  is  analyzed  it  is  found  to  be 
simply  close  attentiveness  to  the  possibilities  for  making 
a  desirable  exchange  of  values.  It  is  like  the  reporter's 
"nose"  for  news — everything  he  sees  or  hears  suggests 


THE  SALESMANAGER  HIMSELF  13 

a  posssible  "story."  So  it  is  with  the  trading  instinct — 
everything  suggests  a  possibility  of  a  trade  to  mutual  ad- 
vantage. Starting  with  the  boy  impulse  to  trade  a  jack- 
knife  for  a  bag  of  marbles,  the  sense  of  comparison  of 
values,  the  weighing  of  relative  human  desires,  one  against 
the  other,  is  the  same  even  when  the  trade  is  a  railway  sys- 
tem for  a  quarter  interest  in  a  holding  company. 

In  salesmanagement,  the  merchandising  instinct  ex- 
presses itself  in  the  capacity  to  know  what  the  consumer 
wants,  what  he  can  be  induced  to  want;  to  know  what  the 
jobbers  and  dealers  will  think  and  do  about  a  merchan- 
dising proposition.  It  thinks  always  in  terms  of  actual 
sales  possibilities,  not  theoretical  sales  possibilities.  It 
visualizes  the  actual  conditions  of  the  field — on  the  counter, 
in  the  home.  The  absence  of  this  merchandising  instinct 
is  the  cause  of  the  loss  of  countless  thousands  of  dollars. 
Every  day  corporations  are  started  for  the  sale  of  some 
invention  or  other  product,  which  it  is  expected  will  reach 
a  large  annual  sale.  The  inventors,  the  incorporators  of 
a  company,  or  the  salesmanagers  they  hire,  are  usually 
over-optimistic  as  to  the  merchandising  possibilities  of  the 
article.  Then  comes  a  gradual  period  of  disillusionment 
which  is  not  at  all  necessarily  due  to  the  lack  of  salesman- 
ship on  the  part  of  the  salesmanager  or  his  men,  but  first 
of  all  due  to  a  failure  to  sense  the  fact  that  the  article 
is  not  merchandisable  in  the  degree  hoped  for,  in  its  pres- 
ent form,  or  perhaps  in  any  form. 

This  merchandising  sense  (by  which  is  meant  merely  the 
instinctive  feeling,  and  not  the  fact-knowledge  which  can 
be  secured  to  check  up  and  prove  or  disprove  this  instinct- 
ive feeling)  expresses  itself  also  in  an  experienced  sales- 
manager's  sense  of  how  to  shape  a  selling  policy,  arrange 
the  distribution  and  work  out  the  best  selling  arguments 
for  a  product.  He  may  be  right  or  wrong  in  this  sense 
(and  usually  is  just  as  often  wrong  as  right),  but  the  in- 


14  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

stinct  guides  him  better  than  ignorance  alone.  A  large 
part  of  this  merchandising  instinct  consists  of  a  practical 
conception  of  the  redstances  which  are  to  be  encountered 
in  any  selling  proposition ;  that  is,  a  feeling  and  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  inertia  on  the  part  of  either  the  public  or  the 
dealers  or  the  jobbers;  and  therefore  a  practical  appre- 
ciation of  the  educational  effort  which  must  be  put  to  work 
to  win. 

All  of  this  refers  to  the  purely  instinctive  insight  which 
gives  a  salesmanager  the  right  sense  of  practical  values  in 
estimating  any  selling  campaign;  which  decides  whether 
a  thing  is  practical  or  impractical  to  push  through  further ; 
whether  it  is  worth  while  to  put  great  expense,  effort, 
time  and  money  along  certain  lines,  or  whether  the  sales 
efforts  or  plans  or  the  product  itself  is  going  counter  to 
the  grain  of  human  nature  and  of  the  merchandising  sit- 
uation. 

A  salesmanager  may  (and  usually  does)  possess  only  a 
limited  merchandising  instinct  because  of  limited  mer- 
chandising experience ;  but  he  can  train  this  limited  in- 
stinct, not  only  with  his  own  further  experience,  but  also 
with  the  knowledge  of  the  experience  of  others  he  secures, 
and  the  right  attention  to  fact-study  and  sound  deduc- 
tion therefrom.  Instinct  is,  after  all,  only  unconscious 
logic  which  is  actually  made  more  valuable  if  it  becomes 
conscious  and  bases  itself  on  a  reasoning  process.  So,  even 
though  lacking  in  merchandising  experience  and  instinct, 
a  salesmanager  can  at  least  carefully  feel  his  way  from 
fact  to  fact  and  not  make  any  vital  mistake.  Some  veiy 
able  salesmanagers  have  no  real  merchandising  instinct, 
but  have  the  good  sense  to  understand  this  lack  and  be 
especially  careful  in  subjecting  all  their  own  judgments 
and  plans  to  the  most  careful,  logical  reasoning.  On  the 
other  hand,  many  of  those  who  have  real  merchandising 
instinct  are  far  too  confident  of  its  infallibility;  far  too 


THE  SALESMANAGER  HIMSELF  15 

impatient  with  utilizing  information,  when  it  can  be  ob- 
tained, in  place  of  mere  instinct. 

The  temptation  with  men  of  well-developed  merchan- 
dising instinct  is  strong  to  regard  it  as  a  great  labor 
saver  and  personal  mark  of  genius  instead  of  the  proper 
point  of  view  of  it  as  a  good  tool  to  use  when  nothing! 
better  is  ai  hand.  The  general  tendency  of  business,  as 
in  every  other  human  activity,  is  away  from  the  instinctive 
toward  the  reasoned  out  process. 


CHAPTER  II 

SHAPING  THE  PRODUCT  FOR  THE  MARKET 

7.  The  Correct  Relation  of  the  Article  to  the  Sales  Plan. — 
The  most  modern  view  of  selling  requires  that,  as  a  princi- 
ple of  successful  marketing,  the  article  should  be  the  result 
of  sales  planning,  and  not  sales  planning  the  result  of 
the  article.  Old-time  practice  and  principle  took  the  ar- 
ticle for  granted,  as  the  correct  starting  point  for  selling. 
But  as  C.  F.  Post,  of  Postum  fame,  was  fond  of  saying, 
"anybody  can  hire  people  to  make  things — the  real  ques- 
tion is  always,  what  can  be  sold,  not  what  can  be  made." 

This  point  of  view  is  intensely  important,  as  it  affects 
the  success  of  an  enterprise  from  the  very  start.  It  is  a 
first  consideration  for  any  salesmanager,  because  after  all 
is  said  and  done  the  article  itself  and  the  degree  of  its 
adaptability  to  its  market  (as  well  as  the  degree  to  which 
it  has  a  logical  market  at  all)  predetermines  the  amount 
of  sales  success  that  may  be  achieved.  The  selling  of  fur 
coats  in  the  tropics  or  radiators  in  Gehenna  or  electric 
fans  in  the  Arctic  zone  are  obvious  absurdities.  But  a 
great  many  other  absurdities  of  selling  are  in  existence 
just  because  they  are  not  so  obvious.  A  group  of  opti- 
mistic investors  in  New  England  erected  a  good-sized  plant 
to  make  a  certain  ingenious  office  device  and  spent  $150,- 
000.  Then  it  came  out  that  six  months'  operation  of  the 
plant  would  produce  all  of  the  machines  which  the  market 
could  absorb  for  ten  years,  for  the  simple  reason  that  only 
offices  with  over  100  employees  and  doing  certain  types 
of  work  could  afford  to  own  such  a  machine ! 

16 


SHAPING  THE  PRODUCT  FOR  THE  MARKET   17 

Another  large  concern  put  out  a  machine  and  six  months 
later  had  to  recall  every  one  of  them  because  they  were 
unadapted  to  average  use.  It  is  a  pitiful  waste  of  sales 
genius  to  sell  an  article  inadequately  adjusted  to  the  mar- 
ket, and  for  this  reason  the  counsel  of  the  selling  depart- 
ment is  becoming  more  and  more  dominant,  not  only  in 
the  making  of  the  article  itself,  but  in  its  shape,  features 
and  general  aspects,  and  even  in  its  wrappings.  In  fact, 
a  number  of  remarkable  successes  in  selling  are  due  solelj' 
to  a  reasoning  process  that  an  article  built  to  fit  certain 
consuming  conditions  would  succeed.  The  inventors  and 
factory  men  in  such  eases  are  mere  workmen  building 
something  to  order ;  in  fact,  some  prominent  examples,  such 
as  a  well-known  rubber  heel  and  a  safety  razor,  were 
operated  merely  as  selling  corporations — purchasing  the 
article  from  factories  on  contract. 

The  goods  to  be  offered  for  sale  should  be  goods  with 
every  selling  advantage  which  study  and  experimentation 
with  the  market  can  afford.  Otherwise  salesmanagement 
starts  with  a  handicap. 

8.  Experimentation  and  Market  Test. — If  an  article  is 
new  there  should  be  no  sales  plan  at  all  until  the  product 
has  gone  through  periods  of  test  and  tryout.  Just  as  a 
theatrical  performance  is  first  tried  out  in  the  small  cities, 
so  a  new  article  needs  tryout.  It  should  be  tested  under 
all  conceivable  tests  of  tjnpical  use,  by  all  classes  of  con- 
sumers with  care  and  thoroughness,  to  insure  reliable  re- 
sults. (See  later  chapter  on  investigation  methods.)  Ex- 
pert observation  by  production  experts  of  the  results  ot 
such  tests  and  investigations  will  then  need  to  be  coordi- 
nated with  wise  sales  judgment  from  the  basis  of  human 
nature,  distribution  and  competitive  conditions. 

From  such  effort  will  evolve  an  article  which  really  has 
sales  possibilities  and  which  may  be  sold  in  the  largest 
quantity  at  the  lowest  cost,  and  with  the  most  rapid  turn- 


18  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

over.  The  mechanical  engineers  in  Henry  Ford's  employ 
at  one  time  advised  him  to  build  and  sell  a  six-cylinder 
car.  He  did,  forcing  himself  against  his  better  judgment 
to  take  the  word  of  mere  mechanicians.  Finally  he  dis- 
carded it,  making  a  car  which  fitted  sales  conditions ;  he 
built  a  car  at  a  price  and  with  a  performance  which  would 
interest  the  greatest  number  of  people  who  had  the  price 
to  pay  for  it.  His  own  tests  and  experiments  had  shown 
him  that  he  must  strike  a  shrewd  balance  between  mechani- 
cal excellence  and  price  and  quantity  production.  From 
every  point  of  view  his  judgment  has  been  vindicated — 
from  the  points  of  view  of  reputation,  profit,  service  to 
public,  quantity  and  rapidity  of  sales  development.  He 
was  daring  in  this  respect  even  to  the  point  of  uniqueness. 

There  is  a  very  frequent  clash  between  the  inventors 
or  production  executives  and  the  sales  executives  concern- 
ing the  product,  and  it  is  very  important  that  the  right 
principles  be  followed.  Inventors  and  production  execu- 
tives frequently  have  an  overfondness  for  mechanical 
cleverness  or  completeness,  or  insist  upon  placing  condi- 
tions of  production  first.  On  the  other  hand,  salesmen 
have  a  tendency,  because  of  the  knocks  and  suggestions 
they  must  listen  to,  of  desiring  frequent  changes.  Their 
imagination  makes  them  see  a  different  product  easier  to 
sell. 

The  true  answer  to  conflict  of  this  kind  is  expert  im- 
partial analysis,  the  results  of  which  are  carefully  con- 
ferred over  in  the  presence  of  both  production  and  sales 
executives.  The  true  average  of  consuming  conditions,  not 
the  special  ideas  or  leanings  of  either  sales  or  production 
executives,  should  rule  the  product.  The  article  needs  to 
be  a  balance  between  what  the  public  will  buy  in  quantity 
and  the  best  that  can  be  produced  at  the  price  which 
market  conditions  demand.  It  will  be  seen  from  this  that 
the  outside  point  of  view  is  two-thirds  of  the  matter.    All 


SHAPING  THE  PRODUCT  FOR  THE  MARKET      19 

business,  in  fact,  is  more  and  more  being  built,  not  from 
within  outward,  but  from  the  outside  inward. 

9.  The  Importance  of  Individuality  in  Merchandise. — 
"People  do  not  pay  for  the  merchandise,  but  for  the 
individuality  of  the  merchandise,"  says  a  prominent 
retailer ;  that  is,  for  those  points  by  which  it  distinguishes 
itself  in  the  minds  of  the  customers  from  competitive 
merchandise. 

"When  a  purchase  is  about  to  be  made,  there  are,  as  a 
rule,  a  number  of  articles  competing  for  the  attention 
(and  the  money)  of  the  buyer.  Among  these  is  one  that 
has  one  or  more  points  that  stand  out  so  strongly  in  the 
mind  of  the  buyer  that  he  selects  the  article  thus  distin- 
guished.   These  points  may  be : 

Price  Prompt  Availability 

Utility  Familiarity  through  previous  use 

Convenience       Recommendation 

Appearance        Advertising 

Service  Reputation  of  the  maker  or  seller,  etc. 

Reliability 
Many  manufacturers  do  not  take  these  factors  into  ade- 
quate consideration.    They  make  goods  a  certain  way,  be- 
cause "they  have  always  been  made  that  way." 

10.  How  to  Develop  Individuality. — The  consensus  of 
opinion  among  those  who  have  given  this  problem  careful 
study  and  have  built  their  sales  successes  on  it,  has  de- 
veloped these  basic  principles : 

a.  The  merchandise  must  have  at  least  one  vital  point 
in  which  it  excels  competitive  merchandise. — These  points 
can  be  found  by  comparing  the  merchandise  proposed  with 
similar  goods  on  the  market,  or  by  ascertaining  some 
"unfilled  want"  in  a  given  market.  For  example,  the 
success  of  Uneeda  Biscuits  is  built  principally  upon  their 
crispness  when  they  reach  the  consumer. 

IngersoU  watches  made  price  their  vital  competitive  ar- 


20  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

gument.  It  is  actually  wise  to  reshape  merchandise  which 
has  no  vital  arf^imentative  individuality,  so  that  it  does 
have  an  individuality.  Often  there  is  excellent  sales  in- 
dividuality in  the  process  of  manufacture  or  quality  which 
has  been  overlooked. 

h.     The  merchandise  should  have  uses  or  points  which 
meet  a  popular  tendency  or  general  needs  in  a  given  field. 
— For  example,  makers  of  automobiles  with  particularly 
effecti%'e  brakes  can  thereby  cash  in  ^vith  their  sales  efforts 
on  "safety  first"  movement.    Another  case  in  point  Ls  the 
policy  of  makers  of  food  products  to  exclude  benzoate  of 
soda  which  was  condemned  by  government  chemists.    Sub- 
sequently  government   officials   retracted   this  condemna- 
tion, but  the  food  makers  who  excluded  the  preservative 
nevertheless  scored  a  hit  because  they  gave  evidence  by 
their  policy  that  they  would  take  no  chances  with  the 
wholesomeness  of  their  goods.     The  public  naturally  pre- 
sumed these  manufacturers  would  be  equally  conscientious 
and  careful  in  everything  pertaining  to  their  merchandise. 
c.     The  merchandise  should  he  attractive  in  appearance. 
— The  human  instinct  for  neatness,  beauty,  attractiveness 
of  some  sort  (which  varies  with  different  classes  of  pur- 
chasers)  is  so  deep  that  it  has  been  found  advisable  to 
cater  to  it,  even  where  appearance  has  no  bearing  on  merit. 
For  instance,  makers  of  tools  give  them  "a  highly  nickel- 
plated  finish" — of  no  consequence  except  to  attract  the 
eye.     In  the  field  of  cosmetics  it  often  happens  that  the 
actual  usable  merchandise  costs  less  than  the  package  in 
which  it  is  put  up.     The  principle  of  attractiveness  is 
sensed  even  by  the  fruit  vendor  at  the  comer  who  polishes 
his  apples. 

The  same  principle  is  responsible  for  the  use  of  "color- 
ing matter"  in  food  products.  Color,  in  fact,  plays  a  very 
important  part  in  the  salability  of  nearly  all  merchandise. 


SHAPING  THE  PRODUCT  FOR  THE  MARKET   21 

The  entire  paint  and  varnish  industry  exists  principally 
because  of  the  desire  of  the  public  for  appearances. 

Goods  of  small  dimensions  especially  need  the  assistance 
of  attractive  packapng.  It  has  been  found  that  retailers 
select  the  neatest  looking  packages  to  display  in  the  choice 
places  where  patrons  will  see  the  goods  (in  the  show  win- 
dow, the  front  countei*s,  the  most  prominent  shelves,  etc.). 

Appearance  counts  even  in  the  purchase  of  raw  mate- 
rials. Sellers  endeavor  to  have  their  samples  show  up  in 
the  best  possible  form. 

The  reason  appearance  is  discussed  here  prior  to  merit 
is  because  that  is  the  rotation  in  actual  business  life.  Ap- 
pearance makes  the  first  appeal  to  the  buyer,  and  if  ad- 
verse, no  sale  is  made — the  goods  do  not  get  a  chance  to 
prove  their  merit. 

If  the  goods  are  one  of  a  family  of  products  made 
or  sold  by  the  same  firm,  they  should  be  packaged  or  out- 
wardly shaped  or  colored  to  give  a  unity  of  identity  that 
will  connect  them  in  the  buyer's  mind  with  other  goods 
of  the  same  "business  famil3^" 

For  instance,  the  scores  of  products  made  by  Armour 
&  Co.  generally  have  a  label  in  which  the  same  color  (yel- 
low) plays  a  prominent  part.  All  the  package  products 
of  Babbitt  &  Co.  (soap  makers)  have  the  same  color 
markings. 

11.  Making  an  Article  "Fool  Proof"  and  Convenient. — 
Many  articles  do  what  inventors  claim  but  cannot  operate 
in  a  practical  way  when  used  by  the  average  user.  In  a 
line  where  there  are  various  competitive  devices  it  is  im- 
portant to  agree  on  standards.  Nearly  all  typewriters 
now  employ  the  same  keyboard.  Those  that  had  different 
keyboards  years  ago  had  ditlficulties  in  finding  a  steady 
market.  Automobile  makers  got  together  long  ago  and 
agi'eed  on  screw,  wheel  and  other  standards.     One  of  tho 


22  IMODERN  SALESIMANAGEMENT 

strongest  arguments  in  favor  of  any  contrivance  is  the 
claim  that  it  has  fewer  parts  than  a  competing  article. 

a.  Goods  should  also  he  convenient  to  handle. — This  is 
another  reason  for  packaging  small  articles.  The  conven- 
ience works  in  two  directions — it  simplifies  the  work  and 
cost  of  handling  the  goods  on  the  part  of  the  store-keeper ; 
it  means  greater  convenience  on  the  part  of  the  purchaser. 
The  man  who  first  put  a  wooden  handle  on  laundry  wax 
made  a  fortune.  Raisins  have  always  been  sticky  and  un- 
sanitary to  handle — a  carton  for  raisins  has  met  with  in- 
stant success.  Convenience,  cleanliness,  appropriateness 
and  handy  size  and  form  are  very  vital  sales  factors. 

&.  Repair  parts  should  he  easily  accessible,  and  service 
available  at  a  reasonable  cost. — The  less  trouble  the  buyer 
has  to  keep  the  article  purchased  in  good  working  condi- 
tion, the  more  favorably  will  he  be  inclined  toward  it. 
One  of  the  prominent  automobile  companies  advertises, 
"You  are  never  more  than  a  town  away  from  a  service 
station  of  ours."  Sometimes  the  buyer  gladly  pays  a 
higher  price  for  a  machine  or  other  article  simply  because 
he  knows  he  can  get  repair  parts  more  readily. 
.  c.  If  possible,  make  the  article  according  to  the  ideas 
of  a  recognized  authority  in  its  field. — This  is  particularly 
the  case  in  lines  where  buyers  are  accustomed  to  guide 
themselves  by  the  advice  of  authorities,  as  in  foods,  drugs, 
architectural  goods,  etc. 

12.  Meeting  the  Consumer's  Need. — Goods  should  never 
fadl  to  he  practically  designed  ta  sv/it  the  characteristics 
and  needs  of  the  class  of  buyers  for  which  they  are  in- 
tended. 

Manufacturers  constantly  enter  the  export  market,  for 
example,  and  fail  to  familiarize  themselves  with  the  pecul- 
iarities of  its  consumers. 

One  reason  why  the  Stetson  Hat  proved  such  a  success 
is  because  this  manufacturer  made  a  hat  of  high  quality 


SHAPING  THE  PRODUCT  FOR  THE  MARKET   23 

and  of  a  particular  shape  that  seemed  to  fit  the  needs  of 
the  Southern  and  Western  cattle  breeders. 

Goods  made  for  people  of  more  primitive  taste  must  be 
more  "flashy"  in  appearance  than  goods  intended  for  peo- 
ple of  culture.  Human  nature  and  psychology  principles 
play  an  important  part  in  the  appearance  of  merchandise 
and  therefore  must  be  carefully  analyzed. 

a.  The  goods  should  he  planned  and  pachaged  to  per- 
mit convenient  transportation  to  the  market  amd  the  buyer. 
— This  is  particularly  important  for  sales  in  sections  where 
transportation  facilities  are  limited,  as  in  isolated  parts 
of  the  South  and  West,  and  particularly  in  Asiatic  and 
South  American  markets.  Here  American  manufacturers 
have  been  beaten  by  their  European  competitors  who  make 
their  goods  so  that  they  can  be  taken  apart  and  transported 
easily  on  muleback. 

European  manufacturers  also  go  to  greater  lengths  in 
adapting  the  kind  of  package  to  the  market  for  which  it 
is  intended.  For  instance,  it  has  often  been  found  that 
American  export  goods  arrived  at  their  destination  in  a 
condition  very  much  inferior  to  European  goods,  because 
the  latter  were  put  up  in  damp-proof  packages  for  the 
ocean  voyage. 

b.  Goods  should  he  put  up  in  units  and  with  marks 
familiar  to  the  purchasers. 

For  instance,  goods  sent  abroad  should  be  measured  ac- 
cording to  the  metric  system,  or  the  sizes  should  be  desig- 
nated according  to  the  system  in  vogue  in  the  country 
for  which  the  merchandise  is  destined.  Gauges  sold  abroad 
should  show  the  pressure  in  kilos  or  kilograms  instead  of 
American  pounds. 

Sometimes  the  article  cannot  be  made  different  from 
competitive  goods  except  by  adding  some  minor  points, 
generally  called  "mere  talking  points."  They  impress 
some  peoijle;  but  as  a  rule  do  not  deserve  the  emphasis 


24  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

jnit  upon  them.  For  instance,  each  make  of  self-playing 
piano  speaks  about  some  patented  tone-accentuating  de- 
vice, generally  featured  under  a  coined  name. 

In  order  to  create  talking  points  automobile  makers 
started  the  fashion  of  bringing  out  new  models  every  year. 
But  the  public  is  refusing  to  respond  as  liberally  as  it  did 
at  first  when  automobiles  were  the  luxury  of  the  rich. 

The  modern  business  man  no  longer  leaves  the  planning 
of  the  sales  qualities  of  his  goods  to  chance,  or  to  the 
limited  sphere  of  personal  opinion  within  his  own  imme- 
diate circle.  Nation-wide  investigations  are  carried  on, 
ascertaining  opinions  of  consumers,  dealers,  jobbers,  in- 
vestigators, laboratory  experts,  finding  all  objections  and 
correcting  them  before  the  product  is  marketed  on  a 
large  scale.  It  is  customary  with  some  manufacturers  to 
make  up  a  trial  quantity  of  goods  and  place  them  with  a 
small  number  of  consumers — aware  of  the  circumstances — 
for  several  years,  before  entering  the  market  on  a  large 
scale. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  SALESMANAGER'S  RELATION  TO  THE  FACTORY 

13.  Need  of  Synchronizing  Making  and  Sellings — Evi- 
dently an  unusual  amount  of  friction  occurs  in  many  busi- 
ness houses  between  the  selling  and  the  manufacturing 
departments. 

This  is  natural  because  the  two  activities  are  opposite 
ends  of  the  pole  in  character  and  kind.  Temperaments 
diametrically  opposed  are  as  a  rule  represented  by  factory 
and  sales  executives;  the  factory  being  accustomed  to  deal 
with  absolutely  fixed  quantities  and  qualities,  while  the 
selling  department  necessarily  deals  in  more  intangible 
matters. 

Efficiency  of  administration  of  a  manufacturing  busi- 
ness d'epends  not  alone  upon  volume  of  sales,  but  upon 
volume  coordinated  and  synchronized  to  factory  produc- 
tion at  margins  and  terms  which  leave  balances  on  the 
right  side  of  the  ledger.  This  requires  clear-cut  organi- 
zation and  teamwork. 

In  fact,  the  situation  is  such  that  the  entire  manufactur- 
ing policy  requires  to  be  guided  by  sales  vision,  whether 
that  sales  vision  reside  entirely  in  the  sales  department  or 
in  the  officers  higher  up. 

Thus,  it  comes  about  that  it  is  important  always  to 
establish  the  right  relationship  between  production  and 
sales  executives. 

14.  Degree  of  Authority  of  Sales  Department  Over  Prod- 
uct.— This  being  a  greatly  disputed  point  it  seems  best  to 

25 


26  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

give  an  adequate  answer  here  in  addition  to  the  general 
sales  organization  study  given  elsewhere. 

The  usual  form  of  organization  makes  the  general  man- 
ager the  superior  of  both  sales  and  production  depart- 
ments. Lack,  however,  of  conferences  held  regularly- 
enough  and  in  the  right  spirit  and  manner,  usually  en- 
tirely isolates  both  factory  and  salesmanagers  from  healthy 
contact.  The  dealing  with  production  matters  is  too  often 
regarded  as  a  purely  mechanical  matter  of  mere  perfunc- 
tory interest  to  the  salesmanager.  Surprising  situations 
of  mutual  ignorance  and  negligence  quite  naturally  result. 
Both  greatly  need  the  discipline  of  frank  contact  and  con- 
flict in  conference  with  the  general  executives  present. 

As  to  the  blunt  question  of  whose  will  should  prevail 
in  a  conflict,  the  answer  is,  of  course,  that  the  general  man- 
ager' must  decide,  by  the  extent  to  which  he  is  willing  to 
0.  K.  the  salesmanager 's  suggestions — a  question  which  de- 
pends largely  on  confidence  in  the  salesmanager 's  judg- 
ment and  caution. 

Daily  or  weekly  conferences,  however  short,  have  a 
gradual  effect  of  moderating  the  ignorance  and  tempera- 
mental differences,  and  of  making  it  posssible  for  each 
to  reach  logical  compromises. 

A  general  manager  of  a  biscuit  factory  is  confronted, 
let  us  say,  with  the  salesmanager 's  desire  to  have  a  certain 
biscuit  placed  in  a  tin  box  instead  of  paper,  sold  at  20 
cents  instead  of  15  cents  and  given  a  better-looking  label. 
The  factory  man  protests  that  the  sale  is  too  small  in  vol- 
ume, paper  and  printing  cost  too  high  and  the  additional 
labor  too  expensive  to  warrant  such  a  move.  The  sales- 
manager  insists  that  a  big  sale  can  be  developed  if  the 
move  is  made,  and  warns  that  unless  it  is  made  the  sales 
will  decline.  After  a  discussion  which  comes  to  a  dead- 
lock, the  general  manager  should  give  the  salesmanager  a 
limited  experimental  time  to  prove  his  contention,  over' 


SALESMANAGER'S  RELATION  TO  FACTORY   27 

riding  to  that  extent  the  production  manager.  The  point, 
in  other  words,  is  that,  until  the  salesmanager's  judgment 
is  shown  to  be  generally  faulty  and  untrustworthy,  his 
recommendations  should  have  right  of  way,  for  at  least 
experimental  purposes.  At  the  same  time  the  salesman- 
ager  should  be  permitted  to  review  the  entire  scope  of 
production  work  frequently  from  the  selling  point  of  view. 
This  would  prevent  such  things  as  making  enough  stock 
of  one  kind  to  last  twenty  years,  simply  "to  fill  in  time." 
The  granting  of  some  precedence  of  authority  of  the  sales 
department  over  production  rests  on  the  principle  that  the 
factory  must  make  only  what  the  sales  department  can  sell ; 
whereas  the  factory  dare  not  dictate  to  the  sales  force  what 
it  miist  sell.  On  the  other  hand,  the  sales  department  must 
operate  with  knowledge  of  costs  and  other  factors  involved 
and  share  the  responsibility — even  the  financial  cost — when 
things  are  asked  in  the  name  of  sales  policy  which  from 
a  production  and  general  management  point  of  view  are 
abnormal  and  disruptive. 

15.  Relation  of  Production  Time  to  Sales  Policy. — The 
chief  logical  demand  from  the  factory  to  the  sales  depart- 
ment is  that  the  sales  department  must  sell  as  near  the 
full  capacity  of  the  factory  equipment  and  organization 
as  possible.  If  this  is  not  done  costs  rise  disproportion- 
ately. 

C.  E.  Knoeppel,  a  well-known  production  engineer,  puts 
it  graphically: 

The  average  salesman  says:  We  make  water-bottles,  or 
we  make  iron  castings,  or  we  make  battle-ships,  or  what- 
ever it  is.  I  take  issue  here:  I  say  that  what  a  business 
makes  is  T-I-M-E.  The  product  you  put  out  to  your  cus- 
tomer is  simply  a  composite  of  hours  and  minutes.  It 
doesn  't  make  any  difference  just  what  time  it  is ;  whether 
it  is  the  time  of  the  salesman,  the  machine  or  the  opera- 


28  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

tive.  But  the  big  thing  to  concentrate  on  is  the  margin 
of  time. 

I  have  seen  cases  where  the  factory  was  supposed  to 
keep  certain  dates,  but  it  did  not  get  its  orders  until  so 
long  after  that  it  was  a  practical  impossibility  for  the  fac- 
tory to  turn  the  order  out  on  time.  It  was  not  altogether 
the  fault  of  the  factory;  it  was  the  fault  of  some  of  the 
departments  that  had  things  to  do  with  the  order  before 
it  reached  the  factory.  It  is  simply  a  question  of  manu- 
facturing time — a  question  of  so  many  hours  and  minutes. 
There  is  another  point  to  be  considered  and  very  few  Sales 
Managers  consider  it,  although  they  are  coming  to  recog- 
nize it  a  little  more  as  a  fact,  and  that  is,  the  size  of  the 
plant  and  the  capacity  of  its  equipment. 

A  factory  is  made  up  of  certain  variables.  You  have 
to  consider  the  men,  and  in  these  days  they  are  almost 
impossible  to  keep  as  an  organized  body.  Then  there  is 
equipment,  and  new  equipment  is  almost  impossible  to  get; 
there  is  material  on  hand,  and  it  is  very  hard  to  get  mate- 
rial. These  are  all  variables.  And  it  is  up  to  the  factory 
management  to  get  all  these  things  and  work  them  into 
sales  conditions. 

Here  is  a  factory  manager  who  has  a  machine  in  his  de- 
partment which  has  an  overhead  burden  of  one  dollar  an 
hour,  in  addition  to  the  labor  and  the  material  that  it 
uses.  But  for  some  unknown  reason  he  finds  that  he  can 
only  keep  that  machine  busy  five  hours  a  day.  The  cost 
of  that  machine,  in  a  ten-hour  day,  becomes  two  dollars 
an  hour.  He  protests  more  strenuously :  "I  have  my  men 
here ;  I  have  my  power,  heat  and  light ;  I  have  my  repair 
gangs  and  my  oilers ;  I  am  ready  to  operate  that  machine 
ten  hours  a  day;  why  should  I  be  taxed  at  the  rate  of  $2 
an  hour  when  the  normal  rate  is  only  one  dollar  an  hour?" 

16.  The  "Standard  Burden  Plan"  of  Equalizing  Idle  Fac- 
tory Time. — "Within  the  last  six  months  I  investigated 


SALESMANAGER'S  RELATION  TO  FACTORY   29 

three  of  the  largest  plants  in  the  country,"  says  Mr. 
Knoeppel.  "The  first  we  studied  had  an  average  idle 
equipment  time  of  40%  and  the  time  of  52%,  the  second 
had  an  idle  equipment  time  of  40%,  and  the  third,  the  old- 
est and  best  established  concern  in  New  England,  had  an 
idle  time  of  30%.  And  yet  these  plants  were  clamoring  for 
more  equipment,  having  an  idle  equipment  time  of  30%, 
40%  and  52%. 

"A  plant  that  is  operating  only  at  seventy  per  cent  ca- 
pacity and  figuring  its  overhead  on  this  basis  will  have 
higher  costs  than  if  it  were  running  at  ninety  per  cent 
capacity.  The  resulting  higher  prices  will  make  it  lose 
business  so  that  by  and  by  it  will  be  running  at  only  sixty 
per  cent.  As  its  business  decreases  its  costs  increaise 
until  a  point  is  reached  where  it  may  be  forced  out  of  the 
market.  We  solved  this  difficulty  by  devising  a  plan  of 
standard  burden,  what  would  be  the  normal  burden  or 
what  its  average  competitor  would  charge,  at  say,  ninety 
per  cent  capacity.  Then  we  charge  the  burden  acccount 
with  actual  burden  and  credit  it  with  standard  burden, 
crediting  or  debiting  the  difference  monthly  or  every  six 
months  to  profit  and  loss.  In  this  way  an  order  ap- 
parently taken  at  a  loss,  by  adding  the  normal  burden 
rate,  would  really  show  a  profit,  and  as  more  orders  were 
taken  on  this  basis  the  actual  burden  would  decrease  in 
proportion  to  the  increase  in  total  volume  of  production. 

"The  important  thing  for  the  Sales  Manager  in  this 
method  of  operating  on  a  standard  burden  plan  is  that 
prices  are  fairly  constant,  regardless  of  fluctuations  in 
volume.  Figure  the  orders  on  hand  in  dollars  and  hours. 
In  classes,  by  dollars  and  by  hours.  It  may  pay  to  fool 
the  customer,  but  it  does  not  pay  to  fool  yourself." 

17.  Factory  Capacity  and  Seasonal  Variations. — The  fac- 
tory and  general  management  has  every  justification  in 
asking  that  the  sales  department  fit  its  sales  plans  toward 


30  MODERN  SALESIVIANAGEMENT 

two  ends  (1)  to  keep  the  plant  going  to  capacity,  and 
(2)  to  maintain  as  nearly  as  possible  a  level  demand,  free 
from  as  miicli  seasonal  variation  as  possible.  It  seems  to 
be  the  case  that  most  plants  have  decided  seasonal  varia- 
tions ;  and  often  are  closed  entirely  part  of  the  year.  Even 
when  the  factory  is  operated  continuously  the  sales  vary 
greatly  from  mouth  to  month  due  to  trade  custom,  climatic 
conditions,  etc.  In  England  and  in  Germany  these  sea- 
sonal variations  have  been  given  more  attention  than  in 
America,  and  careful  policies  have  been  developed  to  *'fill 
up  the  valleys,"  by  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  other  ar- 
ticles, or  by  more  evenly  distributing  the  manufacture. 
This  has  been  more  easily  possible  in  England  and  in 
Germany  because  there  no  such  rapid  style  and  other 
changes  take  place  in  demand.  But  the  Avaste  of  great 
seasonal  variation  is  so  great  as  to  call  for  the  most  seri- 
ous planning.  Practically  all  concerns  show  a  sharp  de- 
cline during  2  or  3  summer  mouths.  Part  of  the  cause  is 
simply  custom  and  prejudice — ^beliefs  that  goods  can  be 
sold  only  at  certain  times.  Such  customs  can  often  be 
changed  with  decided  benefit  and  no  great  effort.  The 
variations  in  many  cases,  of  course,  are  quite  natural  and 
necessary,  and  in  such  cases  must  be  accepted,  and  the  low 
periods  met  either  by  a  budgeted  plan  of  production  laid 
out  from  the  sales  quota  set  for  an  entire  year  (see  budget 
form,  page  — )  or  by  a  supplementary  line  of  manufacture 
to  keep  the  plan  and  salesf  orce  going,  A  certain  maker  of 
a  novelty  ice  cream  freezer  has  a  unavoidable  dull  sea- 
son ;  so  he  deliberately  planned  another  product,  a  patent 
trouser  creasing  device.  Both  articles  are  sold  through 
the  same  distributors,  and  salesmen  have  no  difficulty  in 
keeping  busy  all  the  year  round.  Every  manufacturer 
with  a  pronounced  seasonal  variation  should  have  his  case 
reviewed  by  a  sales  analyst. 


SAI^ESMANAGER'S  RELATION  TO  FACTORY       31 

18.  Multiplicity  of  Models  versus  Standardization. — War 
time  conservation  stimulated  many  reforms  in  standard- 
izing merchandise  which  will  probably  be  permanent. 
Paint  manufacturers  have  reduced  the  number  of  standard 
colors  from  100  to  24;  tire  manufacturers  have  reduced 
si'z.es  from  287  to  9.  Shoe  salesmen  in  the  past  traveled 
with  trunkloads  of  samples  of  different  models  because 
one  dealer  preferred  shoes  with  fancy  perforated  tips  and 
another  did  not.     To-day  this  is  largely  eliminated. 

The  competition  in  price  through  economies  in  quantity 
manufacture  has  touched  most  industries,  and  even  in  the 
automobile  industry  the  competition  for  a  new  model  each 
year  has  subsided.  The  American  people  are  not  so  naive 
and  do  not  crave  novelty  and  mere  variety  in  ornamenta- 
tion as  much  as  they  once  did.  Greater  understanding  of 
cost  accounting  has  also  opened  the  eyes  of  manufacturers 
to  the  ruinous  cost  of  multiplicity  of  models,  designs  and 
varieties.  War  necessity  in  1918  pushed  such  knowledge 
so  far  that  it  was  even  the  practice,  as  in  England,  to  as- 
sign entire  mills  to  the  making  of  a  single  design  or  type 
of  material,  or  even  one  part,  whereas  previously  an  entire 
range  of  articles  or  designs  were  made  in  one  mill. 

From  a  salesmanagement  point  of  view  it  is,  at  first 
glance,  very  hard  to  have  but  one  standard  model  or  kind 
to  sell,  especially  if  competition  is  ready  to  cater  to  the 
customer's  every  differing  whim.  It  seems  to  cramp  sales 
possibilities.  But  in  reality  there  is  an  actual  gain,  because 
of  the  high  concentration  in  all  respects. 

The  one  really  difficulty  and  important  task  in  the  case 
of  a  standardized  article  in  the  face  of  competition  with 
variety  is  to  ''sell"  salesmen  thoroughly  on  the  merits  of 
this  standardization,  and  to  drill  them  to  make  full  use  of 
the  arguments  for  it,  and  to  have  never-failing  courage  to 
meet  properly  the  common  desire  for  variety. 

It  is  part  of  the  general  wisdom  of  salesmanagement  to 


32  MODERN  SALESIMANAGEMENT 

emancipate  a  business  as  rapidly  as  possible  from  the 
slavery  to  variety,  change  and  special  demands  of  custom- 
ers. The  factory  always  welcomes  it,  but  it  is  human 
nature  for  salesmen  to  wish  to  "play  up"  to  customers  by 
humoring  them  with  some  special  stipulation  or  digres- 
sion from  standard.  Salesmanagers  themselves  are  some- 
times inclined  to  change  their  minds  too  frequently  as  to 
changes,  varieties  and  models  and  place  a  severe  strain 
upon  costs.  The  answer  again  in  such  disputes  is  calm, 
impartial  investigation   rather  than  mere   opinion. 


CHAPTER  IV 

BUILDING  A  GOOD  SALES  ORGANIZATION 

19.  Correct  Conception  of  Sales  Organizations. — Sales  Or- 
ganization needs  absolutely  to  be  up  to  the  measure  of 
the  market  in  order  to  be  efficient.  It  must  be  a  tool  which 
can  master  the  market.  Therefore  it  must  be  built  like  a 
technical  article — it  must  be  accurately  engineered  from 
definite  designs  that  fit  the  need.  Unfortunately  many 
businesses  have  grown  in  a  sort  of  haphazard  and  piece- 
meal way.  Like  the  small  house  we  start  in  the  country, 
we  add  one  lean-to,  then  another,  and  another,  until  we 
have  a  series  of  unrelated  lean-tos,  but  not  a  compact, 
well-organized  house. 

The  same  thing  often  happens  to  the  sales  organiza- 
tion. Instead  of  at  the  start  properly  building  the  or- 
ganization to  fit  the  market,  mainy  firms  merely  build  a 
series  of  lean-tos.  This  is  nothing  else  but  "shoestring 
salesmanagement. ' ' 

"What  is  demanded  is  a  sales  organization  built  to  fit 
the  full  possibilities  of  sales  rather  than  to  fit  the  hit-and- 
miss  accidents  of  sales;  a  sales  organization  that  builds 
up  the  industry  and  anticipates  the  future  development 
of  that  industry.  Even  if  it  is  necessary  to  completely 
"scrap"  existing  sales  organization,  it  is  vital  to  get  the 
right  kind  of  organization.  Sales  organization  is  not  a 
bit  different  from  factory  equipment  in  this  respect — it 
frequently  pays  to  make  over  the  organization  and  bring 
it  up  to  date. 

In  addition  to  vision  of  sales  development,  any  correct 

33 


34  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

conception  of  sales  organization  must  include  clear-cut 
knowledge  of  organization  per  se.  In  other  words,  a  sales 
organization  needs  not  only  sound  plans  and  policies  but 
an  understanding  of  what  good  organization  is — any  kind 
of  effective  organization.  There  are  a  great  many  con- 
cerns with  clear  conception  of  policy,  but  which  suffer 
from  ineffectiveness  of  organization.  Small  enterprises 
do  not  suffer  so  greatly  from  this  lack,  but  larger  ones 
very  frequently  are  limited  by  failure  to  grasp  the  special 
technique  required  in  any  matter  which  calls  for  coordi- 
nating the  effort  of  many  men  and  intermediate,  indirectly 
controllable  factors.  Therefore,  good  sales  organization 
depends  perhaps  first  of  all  on  observing  the  first  prin- 
ciples of  organization,  and  in  observing  the  etiquette  and 
the  laws  of  organization.  For  this  reason  considerable 
space  will  be  given  to  the  correct  practical  principles  of 
organization,  even  though  these  principles  are  applicable 
to  any  department  or  to  the  whole  of  a  business. 

20.  Different  Forms  of  Sales  Organization. — It  is  absurd 
to  prescribe  any  single  type  of  ideal  sales  organization, 
because  there  are  nine  broadly  different  methods  of  sell- 
ing, each  calling  for  radically  different  organization: 

1.  Contract  selling,  or  selling  to  a  small  group  of  large 
consumers. 

2.  Selling  direct  to  a  comparatively  large  number  of 
consumers. 

3.  Selling  direct,  through  branch  ofSces,  to  a  large 
number  of  consumers. 

4.  Selling  in  two  or  three  or  more  ways  simultaneously. 

5.  Selling  to  jobbers  only, 

6.  Selling  to  jobbers  mainly,  but  also  direct  to  dealers. 

7.  Selling  direct  to  retailers  mainly,  but  also  to  some 
jobbers. 

8.  Selling  direct  to  dealers  only. 

9.  Selling  by  mail. 


BUILDING  A  GOOD  SALES  ORGANIZATION      3r> 

The  aim,  under  any  selling  condition,  is  naturally  to  sell 
as  cheaply  as  possible,  yet  keeping  the  sales  growing  satis- 
factorily. The  strength  of  the  resistance  of  the  market 
largely  decides  the  choice  of  the  above  modes  of  sales 
organization. 

Different  kinds  of  sales  organization  are  demanded  even 
under  the  same  class  as  outlined  above,  if  the  age,  ambi- 
tions and  attitude  toward  the  field  differs.  For  instance, 
one  concern  may  have  a  highly  aggressive  policy  calling 
for  a  swift-operating,  wide-extending  and  many-sided  sales 
organization,  producing  an  average  yearly  growth  of  30%, 
whereas  another  concern  in  the  same  field — and  possibly 
doing  a  larger  volume  of  business — may  be  entirely  con- 
tent, because  of  older  prestige,  temperamental  aversion  to 
change  or  rapid  growth,  long  enjoyment  of  good  profits, 
etc.,  to  have  a  small  organization  yielding  10%  or  less 
average  yearly  growth. 

Therefore,  not  alone  the  form  of  selling,  but  the  policy 
of  sales  development  must  shape  the  sales  organization. 
If  a  concern  is  aggressive  enough  it  may  find  it  desirable 
to  break  through  old  methods — to  "annihilate  time" — and 
create  an  especially  large  and  expensive  sales  organization 
that  will  produce  the  effect  desired — quite  logically  charg- 
ing the  extra  cost  to  the  general  capital  account,  since  the 
work  is  an  investment  for  future  sales  at  less  cost. 

The  typewriter  and  adding  machine  companies  choose 
to  operate  a  highly  expensive  direct  selling  branch  organ- 
ization, first,  because  of  the  high  importance  of  service  to 
users,  and,  second,  because  no  other  than  directly  con- 
trolled representatives  could  cultivate  the  field  so  inten- 
sively and  aggressively. 

On  the  other  hand,  as  a  contrast,  a  concern  with  enor- 
mous country-wide  sales,  like  the  Cream  of  Wheat  Com- 
pany, does  not  employ  a  single  salesman,  and  has  a  very 
ismall  selling  organization,  since  it  sells  only  through  job- 


36 


MODERN  SALESIVIANAGEMENT 


Big  Deal 
Work 


Advert  Islnf 
Conference 


Analysis 
Conditions 


?actory 
Conference 


Closing 


Sales 
School 


Quota 

Plans 


Sales 
Convention 


Selecting 
Salesmen 


Uspplng  Out 
Campaign 


Sales 
School 


Closing 


Sales 
Convention 


Sales 
School 


Checking 
Eeoords 


Sales 
School 


Map  &  TaclJ 
Syster 


Analysis 


Sales 
EeeordG 


Catalogs 


Dealer 
Records 


Chart 

faking  ■ 


Corres- 
pondence 


Data 
F'-se 


Quota 
Records 


Foreign 
Shippinp 


Hiring 
Dist. Staff 


Routing 


Planning 


Crew  Pol- 
low  Op 


Ulssionary 
Pork 


STANDARD    IDEAL     SALES 


bers  and  depends  on  consumer  advertising  almost  entirely 
to  maintain  demand.  Nevertheless,  other  concerns  in  the 
same  position  as  Cream  of  Wheat,  because  of  a  different 
attitude,  may  employ  a  large  number  of  salesmen,  "mis- 
sionaries" demonstrators,  and  special  detail  men.  The 
question  always  is,  how  fitting  or  logical  or  profitable  is 


BUILDING  A  GOOD  SALES  ORGANIZATION      37 


Pom 
Letters 


Cooperation 
Plana 


Conferenooa 


Sales  Stlm- 


Catalog 


O.K.  all 
Copy 


Vlnijow 
Display 


Inquiry 
Handling 


ORGANIZATION    CHART 

any  given  form  of  sales  organization  when  matched  care- 
fully to  the  field  situation  and  to  the  status,  ability  and 
capital  of  the  selling  concern?     It  is  not  logical: 

1.  To  create  a  sales  organization  capable  of  producing 
more  sales  than  can  be  adequately  manufactured  and 
financed. 


a  03  6.2.9 


38  ]\IODERN  SALESIVIANAGEMENT 

2.  To  create  a  sales  organization  without  complete 
leadership  and  adequate  backing. 

3.  To  operate  a  form  of  sales  organization  which  will 
antagonize  the  trade  uselessly. 

4.  To  form  a  sales  organization  with  a  mere  idea  of 
"covering  the  field." 

5.  To  start  a  sales  organization  too  large  in  compari- 
son with  probable  returns  within  a  year;  or  too  small  in 
comparison  with  desired  returns. 

6.  To  expect  a  sales  organization  to  perform  miracles 
or  to  overcome  grave  inherent  obstacles  too  soon. 

21.  Charting  the  Sales  Organization. — There  are  logical 
and  practicable  reasons  why  a  sales  organization  chart 
should  be  made  for  any  sales  organization — even  a  small 
one.  In  the  first  place,  it  puts  in  tangible  form  in  front 
of  all  eyes  the  duties  and  relationships  of  individuals.  It 
eliminates  possible  misunderstanding  and  overlapping.  It 
gives  each  executive  and  each  individual  in  the  organiza- 
tion a  clear  idea  of  the  sphere  of  his  action  and  his  re- 
lationship to  other  individuals. 

The  chart  shown  elsewhere  of  a  standard  sales  organiza- 
tion clearly  demonstrates  the  value  of  such  a  device.  To 
the  salesmanager  himself,  and  perhaps  to  his  assistant,  all 
the  details  of  duties  assigned  and  authorities  granted  are 
clear  without  a  chart.  But  it  is  for  the  reason  that  others 
besides  the  salesmanager  and  his  assistant  need  to  knoAV 
the  organization,  that  a  chart  is  valuable.  The  least  im- 
portant individual  in  a  sales  organization  works  better 
when  he  can  visualize  his  own  place  in  the  organization. 
He  can  then  see  his  work's  relation  to  other  work;  a  very 
necessary  thing  to  complete  efficiency. 

It  is  therefore  yery  advisable  that  after  an  organization 
chart  has  been  designed  that  copies  of  it  be  struck  off 
and  given  to  each  worker  to  keep  and  study.  Anything 
that  can  be  done  to  foster  and  increase  the  sense  of  orgaiv- 


BUILDING  A  GOOD  SALES  ORGANIZATION      39 

ization  in  the  sales  department  is  a  great  gain;  for  there 
is  no  stimulation  greater  than  the  stimulation  of  work- 
ing in  well-guided  unison.  A  sales  organization  chart  does 
what  nothing  else  can  do,  not  even  talks  by  the  salesman- 
ager — it  makes  a  picture  of  the  organization,  so  that  its 
existence  becomes  visual  instead  of  abstract. 

The  method  of  making  such  an  organization  chart  is  to 
call  in  a  competent  sales  organization  specialist.  Not  an 
organizer  of  salesmen,  but  a  technician  in  general  sales  de- 
partment organization.  Not  a  mere  chart  maker,  but  a 
competent  sales  analyst  who  can  advise  whether  the  ex- 
isting form  of  organization  is  the  best  fitted  to  the  situa- 
tion. What  is  often  needed  is  a  competent  survey  of  a 
sales  organization,  which  will  examine  it  just  like  an  engi- 
neer will  survey  and  report  on  a  factory,  or  a  public  ac- 
countant will  examine  the  books  of  a  firm. 

It  is  often  highly  instructive  to  chart  roughly  the  or- 
ganization as  its  stands,  showing  all  the  criss-crossing  of 
lines  of  authority  and  function,  as  it  depicts  clearly  the 
waste  motion  and  confusion  that  may  exist,  and  the  need 
of  immediate  reform. 

22.  The  Fixing  of  Authority  and  Responsibility. — ^What 
are  the  practical  elements  in  successful  organization? 
What  are  the  basic  points  which  demand  attention  and 
effort?  The  following  are  the  definite  practical  principles 
for  keeping  an  organization  from  degenerating  into  dis- 
organization : 

1.  The  duties  as  well  as  responsibilities  and  authority 
of  each  worker  should  be  clearly  defined ;  even  in  the  case 
of  the  least  important  member  of  an  organization. 

2.  Workers  in  charge  of  specific  duties  should  never  be 
given  cause  to  have  any  doubt  as  to  who  is  the  superior 
held  responsible  for  that  particular  work. 

3.  Work  of  a  given  character,  even  when  undertaken 


40  IklODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

by  different  groups  of  workers,  should  be  under  the  gen- 
eral supervision  of  one  chief  superior. 

4.  The  work  of  one  group  should  not  in  any  degree 
be  duplicated  by  any  other  group  of  workers. 

5,  The  work  done  by  each  group  of  workers  should 
function  with  that  of  other  correlated  groups. 

The  acknowledged  principle  behind  the  idea  of  organi- 
zation is  the  division  and  fixation  of  resposibility.  Intri- 
cate work,  it  is  found,  cannot  be  successfully  carried  on 
unless  this  principle  is  applied. 

23.  A  Sales  Organization  Manual. — ^What  is  organization 
responsibility?  It  is  the  obligation  assumed  or  delegated 
for  the  successful  discharge  of  specific  functions.  Respon- 
sibility may  be  divided  into  three  divisions:  (1)  Planning; 
(2)  Direction;  (3)  Execution. 

Each  executive  or  employee  is  entitled  clearly  to  know 
the  full  details  of  all  his  duties  and  those  of  his  co-workers 
with  whom  he  comes  in  official  contact. 

The  best  way  to  keep  each  employee  informed  of  his  or 
her  duties,  according  to  the  practice  of  many  prominent 
corporations,  is  by  means  of  a  sales  organization  manual. 
It  records,  in  an  authentic  and  carefully  planned  manner 
just  what  is  expected  of  each  worker.  It  should  contain 
detailed  instructions  for  every  worker  in  the  department, 
down  to  stenographers;  accumulating  the  knowledge  of 
each  worker  by  having  these  workers  themselves  suggest 
revisions  from  time  to  time.  The  Manual  should  cover  the 
subjects  of  (1)  house  policy,  (2)  systems,  (3)  standard 
practice  details,  in  handling  work,  (4)  house  bulletins  on 
routine  matters.  Changes  and  additions  in  the  rules  or 
tasks  are  conveyed  by  means  of  bulletins  or  notification 
slips  given  to  each  employee  concerned,  and  then  made 
a  part  of  the  manual,  so  as  to  be  available  for  reference. 

There  should  be  demanded  an  acknowledgment,  as  an 
evidence  in  writing,  that  the  worker  has  read  the  manual 


BUILDING  A  GOOD  SALES  ORGANIZATION      43 

and  the  current  additions  or  notifications.  Signatures  on 
sheets  provided  in  the  manual  itself,  with  date,  is  an  ap- 
proved plan. 

Such  a  sales  organization  manual  is  very  distinctly  dif- 
ferent from  a  salesman's  manual.  A  sales  organization 
manual  is  a  purely  organization  matter,  dealing  with  in- 
ternal organization  method,  routine  and  instruction. 

24.  Overlapping  of  Duties  and  Authority. — This  is  an 
extremely  common  form  of  waste  and  expense.  A  mere 
title  provides  no  clearly  defined  limits  as  to  where  re- 
sponsibility begins  or  ends. 

A  clear-cut  routine  should  be  prescribed  in  the  Sales 
Organization  Manual,  and  respected  in  practice;  that  is, 
there  should  be  no  unwarranted  assumption  of  authority 
or  functions,  not  even  toward  inferiors.  Failure  to  observe 
this  rule  destroys  the  all-important  ''sense  of  respon- 
sibility." 

Experience  shows  that  the  most  frequent  clashes  regard- 
ing responsibility  and  function  occur  through  the  minor 
duties  which  have  not  been  clearly  defined  and  about  which 
doubt  has  arisen,  or  where  changing  conditions  have  de, 
veloped  complications. 

To  avoid  this,  it  is  essential  that  executives  keep  close 
watch  on  minor  conditions  and  issue  regulations  to  fit 
them. 

There  should  be  no  change  in  the  assignment  of  duties 
without  due  cause  and  proper  notification.  The  principles 
of  organization  are  violated  if  the  responsibilities  dele- 
gated to  one  person  are  assumed  by  another  without  proper 
authority. 

If  experience  proves  that  the  assignment  of  certain  duties 
to  certain  employees  does  not  work  well,  the  necessary 
change,  according  to  the  practice  of  leading  corporations, 
Is  announced  in  writing,  not  only  to  the  parties  directly 
involved^  but  also  to  all  with  whom  they  come  in  contact 


42  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

in  exercising  the  duties  in  question.  The  logic  of  this  prin- 
ciple is  self-evident.  Failure  to  observe  it  is  sure  to  create 
confusion  and  inefficiency. 

25.  Organization  Etiquette. — There  should  be  strict  ad- 
herence to  business  etiquette,  when  conditions  compel  the 
assumption  of  another's  responsibility.  The  zeal  of  an  or- 
ganization worker  has  a  tendency  to  make  him  "over- 
reach," in  his  activities.  The  "man  below"  wants  to  show 
at  every  opportunity  his  interest  in  the  work,  his  ability 
and  his  fitness  for  promotion.  This  means  a  natural  dan- 
ger whereby  he  is  apt  to  assume  duties  assigned  to  his 
subordinates  or  his  superiors.  This  happens  particularly 
when  the  worker  "trespassed  upon"  is  absent. 

A  similar  situation  arises  on  the  part  of  "the  man 
above"  who — feeling  his  responsibility  for  the  work  of  his 
subordinates — takes  every  opportunity  to  mix  into  their 
work,  and  occasionally  take  it  over  himself,  either  all  or 
certain  parts. 

On  the  other  hand,  experience  shows  that  a  particularly 
frequent  cause  of  trouble  is  the  "sidestepping"  of  an  or- 
ganization worker  of  his  own  responsibility  through  un- 
loading it  upon  some  one  else. 

If  matters  come  up  that  need  attention  while  the  proper 
party  is  not  present,  it  is  a  rule  in  well-managed  organ- 
izations that  whoever  looks  after  such  matters  temporarily, 
should  do  so  in  name  of,  and  as  though  acting  for,  the  man 
regularly  in  charge  of  the  particular  task,  and  should 
report  and  refer  the  matter  to  him  at  the  earliest  oppor- 
tunity. 

The  following  constitutes  a  simple  but  fairly  complete 
code  of  organization  etiquette: 

a.  Use  courtesy  to  all,  equals  and  inferiors  as  well  as 
superiors.  This  means  greetings,  tone  of  voice  in  talking, 
consideration  for  the  personal  comfort  of  all  who  enter 
your  office,  whether  visitors  or  employees. 


BUILDING  A  GOOD  SALES  ORGANIZATION      43 

b.  Don't  adversely  criticize  any  one  in  the  presence  of 
others. 

c.  Don't  use  ungentlemanly  language. 

d.  Respect  the  authority  of  others,  and  the  personal 
dignity  of  subordinates. 

e.  Don't  criticize  destructively.  Criticize  construct- 
ively by  suggesting  how  the  error  in  question  may  be 
avoided  in  the  future. 

f.  Don't  encourage  gossip  about  fellow  workers. 

g.  Don't  countenance  animosities  or  intrigues. 

h.     Give  every  one  credit  for  his  good  suggestions. 

i.  Be  as  liberal  in  praising  good  performance  as  you 
are  in  censuring  bad  performance. 

j.  If  necessary  to  discharge  or  deprive  workers  of  au- 
thority, do  so  on  the  basis  of  business  expediency  rather 
than  personal  failure. 

k.  Don't  show  partiality  or  favoritism  or  injustice 
in  any  direction. 

1.  Don't  let  personal  feelings  govern  your  actions 
against  your  better  business  judgment. 

m.  Promote  on  merit  only,  and  give  preference  to  your 
own  employees  over  outsiders,  other  things  being  equal. 

n.  Don 't  belittle  any  one,  not  even  the  humblest  worker 
in  your  organization. 

26.  Loyalty  and  "Esprit  de  Corps"  for  Both  the  Firm  and 
the  Department. — The  feeling  that  makes  workers  proud, 
glad  and  enthusiastic  about  belonging  to  an  organization, 
and  willing  to  do  their  best  for  its  success  is  of  especially 
great  importance  in  a  sales  organization.  Esprit  de  corps 
is  produced  when  the  organization  workers  have  the  fol- 
lowing ideas  about  their  positions: 

1.  That  it  is  a  privilege,  an  education,  and  an  advan- 
tage to  work  for  that  particular  firm. 

3.    That  the  firm  appreciates  their  work  and  loyalty. 


44  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

3.  That  the  firm  is  absolutely  fair  and  can  be  depended 
on  to  deal  justly  "with  every  one  on  MERIT  only. 

4.  That  the  firm  will  reward  merit  without  solicita- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  employee. 

5.  That  the  firm  will  give  extra  rewards  for  extra 
merits. 

6.  That  the  firm  will  receive  suggestions  from  any  one 
in  its  employ,  regardless  of  their  position. 

7.  That  the  firm  intends  to  do  its  best  to  further  the 
general  welfare  of  its  employees. 

8.  That  the  firm,  and  all  co-workers,  observe  the  prin- 
ciples of  business  etiquette. 

9.  That  the  rules  made  by  the  firm  and  the  sales  de- 
partment are  based  upon  reasonable  business  requirements 
and  principles. 

27.  Sales  Conference  Methods  and  Principles. — Perhaps 
no  other  department  of  business  so  definitely  requires  con- 
ferences as  does  a  sales  department — for  the  reason  that 
the  aspects  of  selling  are  constantly  changing.  Conditions 
in  the  field  being  of  chief  importance  always,  the  sales 
plans  must  constantly  be  readjusted;  new  plans  must  be 
devised  and  new  facts  studied.  The  organization  con- 
stantly needs  tuning  up;  special  effort  and  teamwork  is 
constantly  demanded  for  success. 

Conferences  between  the  sales  executives  within  the 
sales  department,  sales  conferences  between  the  chief  execu- 
tives and  the  other  principal  executives  or  directors  of  a 
busir^ess,  and  conferences  between  salesmen  or  branch 
managers  and  the  headquarters  staff  are  proven  to  be  valu- 
able. Some  firms  have  even  successfully  inaugurated  dealer 
conferences,  to  which  the  distributors  are  invited. 

"Whatever  the  conferences  held,  it  is  vital  that  they  be 
handled  properly,  for  not  only  do  they  cost  considerable 
money  to  hold,  but  if  they  are  mishandled  they  are  just 
as  harmful  as  they  might  have  been  beneficial.    Therefore, 


BUILDING  A  GOOD  SALES  ORGANIZATION      45 

it  is  well  to  study  some  practical  rules  for  conference 
holding : 

1.  Meetings  should  be  held  regularly,  on  definite  dates, 
at  definite  hours  and  with  definite  fixed  time  limits.  Defi- 
nite effort  should  be  made  to  keep  within  these  limits. 

2.  The  meetings  should  be  extended  only  when  the  im- 
portance and  urgency  of  the  matter  for  consideration  make 
it  necessary.  Otherwise  it  should  be  deferred  ior  the  next 
meeting  or  some  special  meeting  to  be  held  if  the  matter 
is  sufficiently  urgent. 

3.  There  should  be  maintained  a  definite  schedule  for 
discussion,  with  sufficient  elasticity  not  to  choke  off  im- 
portant developments.  Some  topic,  not  of  immediate  ur- 
gency, should  be  held  in  reserve  to  fill  in  time  not  other- 
wise taken  up. 

4.  The  entire  success  of  the  committee  and  conference 
method  lies  in  the  skill  of  the  presiding  officer.  The  pre- 
siding officer  should  be  intelligently  and  courteously  firm, 
keeping  the  meeting  to  the  schedule  and  on  the  subject. 
In  every  discussion  there  exists  a  temptation  to  take  up 
time  by  tangent  points  of  minor  importance.  Participants 
should  be  made  to  stick  to  the  point. 

5.  Every  participant  should  be  made  to  exert  himself 
and  contribute  actively  to  the  meeting  either  in  a  leading 
way  or  in  the  discussions. 

6.  Every  task  developed  by  a  meeting  that  requires 
future  performance  should  be  assigned  to  some  partici- 
pants so  they  can  be  definitely  and  personally  held  re- 
sponsible for  its  execution. 

7.  It  has  been  found  well  worth  the  cost  to  have  in- 
formal notes  taken  of  the  proceedings,  with  copies  fur- 
nished to  the  participants  and  to  the  executives  (even  if 
they  have  not  participated).  In  the  course  of  the  year 
a  volume  of  these  minutes  becomes  a  very  helpful  docu- 
ment on  the  conduct  of  the  business.     Also  it  makes  a 


46  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

permanent  record  of  individual   experiences  which  thus 
become  the  fixed  property  of  the  firm. 

8.  Conference  members  should  be  tactfully  coached  in 
public  expression  of  ideas,  and  brief  presentation  of  a 
thought. 


CHAPTER  y 

PRICE-MAKING    AND    PRICE    PROTECTION 

28.  Price,  duality  and  Individuality. — "Price  makes  the 
"market"  was  a  commercial  axiom  in  former  days,  when 
price,  as  a  rule,  was  the  pivot  around  which  sales  turned. 
To-day  this  is  still  true  to  a  large  extent  among  staples. 
However,  in  the  end,  even  among  staples,  it  is  recognized 
that  it  is  seldom  the  price,  but  the  reason  for  the  price 
which  determines  the  sale ;  that  is,  the  gain  which  the  buyer 
hopes  to  make  by  "parting  with  the  price." 

Price  is  determined  by  one  or  more  of  the  following 
principles : 

a.  The  surest  and  quickest  way  of  becoming  independ- 
ent of  a  fluctuating  market  is  to  give  the  article  an  indi- 
viduality that  permits  establishing  an  individual  price. 
Even  '  ■'  Crystal  Domino  Sugar, ' '  sold  in  cartons,  is  retailed 
at  a  uniform  price.  It  has  no  competition  in  the  opinion 
of  the  housewife  who  has  decided  that  she  wants  that  par- 
ticular brand. 

b.  The  price  must  compare  favorably,  value  consid- 
ered, with  the  price  of  competitive  goods.  This  does  not 
mean  that  the  price  must  always  be  as  low  or  lower 
than  that  of  the  competitive  goods.  But  if  it  is  higher 
there  must  be  good  cause  for  the  difference  in  price  in  the 
mind  of  the  buyer. 

People  are  not  alone  willing  to  pay  a  reasonable  price 
for  standard  qualities  in  merchandise  but  higher  prices 
for  such  additional  factors  as: 

47 


48  IMODERN  SALESJMANAGEMENT 


1. 

Reputation 

2. 

Purity- 

3. 

Accessibility 

4. 

Appearance 

5. 

Recommendation  by  friends  or  authority 

6. 

Security 

7. 

Convenience 

8. 

Social  Prestige 

9. 

Style 

29.  Price  in  Relation  to  Manufacturing  and  Field  Condi- 
tions.— In  setting  the  selling  price  of  the  goods,  sufficient 
margin  of  profit  must  be  left  not  only  to  cover  (1)  the  cost 
of  manufacturing,  but  developing  and  broadening  a  mar- 
ket; but  also  (2)  pay  ample  returns  on  the  investment 
in  the  business. 

The  policy  of  "charging  what  traffic  will  bear"  is  de- 
clining, for  the  reason  that  it  invites  antagonism  or  ill  will 
on  the  part  of  the  trade  or  the  consumer.  It  also  invites 
competition  to  enter  the  field.  The  latter  is  the  case  in 
the  safety  razor  situation. 

The  modern  price  policy  is  to  establish  prices  on  a  basis 
that  will  net  a  fair  return  on  the  investment  in  the  busi- 
ness— and  also  provide  amply  for  the  overhead  cost  of 
doing  business  and  unforeseen  exigency. 

a.  When  there  is  a  probability  of  change  in  price  later 
on,  it  is  safer  to  start  with  a  price  that  can  subsequently 
be  lowered.  Such  a  policy  has  always  a  highly  beneficial 
effect  upon  buyers.  It  is  always  more  difficult  to  raise 
the  price  than  to  lower  it,  as  the  former  is  likely  to  result 
in  the  loss  of  part  of  the  trade. 

b.  Keeping  the  price  at  a  steady  level  increases  the 
good  will  of  distributors  and  the  public.  This  is  particu- 
larly true  when  the  cost  of  raw  materials  or  other  items 
is  advancing.    The  Com  Products  Refining  Company  built 


PRICK-MAKING  AND  PRICE  PROTECTION      49 

valuable  public  confidence  by  not  advancing  the  price  of 
Karo  Corn  Syrup  when  advance  in  raw  materials  tem- 
porarily wiped  out  all  profit. 

Experience  fully  demonstrates  that  the  cost  of  market- 
ing goods  is  generally  underestimated.  This  condition  is 
carefully  watched  by  firms  which  have  the  proper  con- 
ception of  sales  cost.    Investigation  discloses  that  sales  cost 


NATIONAL    PRICE   ZONE   MAP,   BASED   ON    FREIGHT    DIFFERENTIALS 


now  runs  from  2%  on  very  common  staples  to  as  high  as 
65%  on  some  specialties.     (See  chapter  on  selling  cost.) 

c.  The  price  must  permit  the  distributor  to  make  a 
profit  that  is  an  inducement  to  him. 

If  the  distributor  is  to  be  asked  to  do  the  larger  share 
of  introducing  or  pushing  the  goods,  he  will  naturally 
expect  a  maximum  margin  of  profit.  If  the  manufacturer 
expends  money  and  energy  sufficient  to  create  an  almost 
automatic  market  for  the  goods,  the  dealer  must  be  satis- 
fied with  a  minimum  profit. 

The  live  distributor  measures  his  profits,  not  only  on 
the  percentage  of  profit  afforded,  but  also  on  the  turn- 


50  MODERN  SALESIMANAGEMENT 

over";  that  is,  tlie  number  of  times  he  can  turn  over  hia 
investment  on  the  goods  within  a  year. 

This  is  the  principal  reason  why  dealers  will  handle 
well-advertised  goods  at  a  smaller  margin  of  profit  than 
goods  not  so  well  advertised.  There  is  more  gain  in  sell- 
ing 100  dozen  of  a  given  article  a  year  at  a  profit  of  50c. 
a  dozen  than  in  handling  a  competitive  article  of  which 
only  25  dozen  a  year  could  be  sold  at  a  profit  of  $1.00  a 
dozen. 

d.  The  large  area  of  this  country  makes  it  advisable 
for  manufacturers  of  articles  in  which  freight  or  express 
expense  is  an  important  factor,  to  establish  "price  zones," 
that  is,  separate  prices  for  separate  territories.  These 
territories  are  carefully  worked  out  from  freight  and  ex- 
press rates. 

In  some  cases  "traffic  strategy"  overcomes  the  competi- 
tive handicap  of  higher  freight  rates.  For  example,  the 
Panama  Canal  now  permits  Oregon  lumber  to  compete 
in  towns  on  the  Hudson  River  with  lumber  from  the  South 
and  Middle  West.  The  latter  comes  by  rail,  the  Oregon 
lumber  all  the  way  by  water,  being  transshipped  up  the 
Hudson  River  from  New  York. 

30.  Price  Equality. — "Quantity  Prices"  should  be  uni- 
form to  the  same  class  of  buyers.  Within  the  past  few 
years  a  new  policy  has  sprung  up  in  regard  to  quantity 
prices.  This  has  largely  been  the  result  of  a  strong  public 
tendency  against  business  monopoly,  and  in  favor  of  busi- 
ness policies  which  stand  for  the  greatest  good  to  the  great- 
est number  of  people. 

In  years  past  no  one  questioned  the  principle  that  the 
larger  the  order  placed,  the  lower  should  be  the  selling 
price.  This  was  based  on  the  theory  that  the  cost  of  sell- 
ing and  handling  the  goods  was  thus  reduced.  The  Kel- 
logg Toasted  Corn  Flakes  Company  was  the  pioneer  in  a 
different  price  policy  which  they  called  the  "Square  Deal." 


PRICE-MAKING  AND  PEICE  PROTECTION      51 

They  have  declared  that  the  factor  which  should  deter- 
mine the  price  differential  is  not  the  quantity  pur- 
chased by  a  firm,  but  the  character  of  the  firm,  as  to 
whether  they  are  jobbers  or  dealers. 

As  a  result  of  this  policy  the  Kellogg  Company  charges 
the  large  jobber  the  same  price  as  the  small  jobber,  and 
refuses  to  give  large  department  stores  or  chain  stores  a 
price  advantage  over  the  smaller  dealer. 

Another  modern  tendency  is  to  make  preferential  dis- 
count allowances  for  sales  cooperation  "value  received." 
For  example,  a  certain  amount  of  window  display  under- 
taken by  the  customer,  or  the  operation  of  special  plans, 
or  local  advertising,  or  pushing  the  goods,  or  even  a  job- 
bing distribution  service,  as  in  the  case  of  chain  stores, 
is  rated  as  worth  certain  scales  of  reduction  in  price, 
thereby  increasing  the  dealer's  profit. 

Regardless  of  the  price  policy  adopted,  the  consensus 
of  opinion  is  unanimously  in  favor  of  making  and  main- 
taining the  same  scale  of  prices  to  the  same  class  of  buyers 
(within  the  same  price  zone). 

The  most  convenient  way  to  do  this  in  lines  consisting 
of  a  large  variety  of  items  has  been  found  to  be  through 
the  use  of  a  gross  price  list.  It  features  the  goods  at  prices 
considerably  higher  than  those  for  which  the  goods  are 
actually  sold.  These  "list  prices"  are  subject  to  "trade 
discounts."  This  practice  greatly  simplifies  the  handling 
of  catalogues  and  quotations.  For  example,  a  hardware 
jobbing  firm,  with  a  catalogue  containing  thousands  of 
items,  simply  notifies  a  dealer  that  he  is  entitled  to  40%  dis- 
count. If  prices  go  up,  they  notify  him  that  thereafter 
prices  are  figured  at  35%  discount.  The  prices  at  which 
the  jobbers  buy  from  the  manufacturer  are,  in  such  a  case, 
50%  or  60%  off  list. 

31.  Just  Price  Discrimination. — The  "price  discrimina- 
tion" most  generally  in  use  is  that  based  upon  quantities 


52  MODERN  SALESJ^IANAGEMENT 

purchased.  This  has  beeu  found  most  satisfactory  by  the 
majority  of  firms,  when  the  schedule  of  discounts  was  so 
adjusted  that  it  permitted  selling  to  retailers  direct  when 
they  ordered  direct,  at  a  price  that  protected  the  jobber 
automatically  because  of  the  smaller  quantities  ordered 
by  the  average  retailer. 

A  large  manufacturer  of  safety  razors,  an  aggressive 
advertiser,  has  this  schedule : 

On  orders  for  less  than  3  dozen  and  100  dozen  blades, 
25%   and  2i^  cash  discount. 

On  orders  for  3  dozen  or  more  25%  less  10%  less 
2%  cash  discount. 

Some  firms  make  an  additional  price  discrimination  in 
the  form  of  a  rebate,  based  upon  the  quantity  of  goods 
bought  by  a  customer  within  six  months  or  a  year.  Other 
firms  give  preferential  discounts  to  customers  w^ho  carry 
their  complete  line.  Still  others,  particularly  those  sell- 
ing through  exclusive  local  agents,  maintain  a  flat  rate  on 
the  presumption  that  if  they  have  only  one  aggressive 
local  customer  he  W'ill  secure  all  the  business  he  can,  if 
encouraged  by  bottom  prices. 

Another  large  and  well-known  firm  has  established  a 
minimum  gross  sales  total  of  $62.50  per  order.  Any  cus- 
tomer who  buys  above  that  is  entitled  to  a  jobbing  dis- 
count of  10%. 

To  summarize:  prices  and  discounts  are  the  platform 
upon  which  to  build  a  good  distributive  organization,  be- 
cause upon  these  hinge  the  willingness  of  large  numbers 
of  dealers  and  jobbers  to  cooperate. 

32.  Fixing  the  "Re-Sale  Price."— IManufacturers  who 
wish  to  build  up  a  wide  distribution  of  their  products  and 
strengthen  their  good-will  find  it  essential  to  establish  a 
''fixed  resale  price"  policy.  If  they  do  not  succeed  in 
having  their  goods  sold  at  uniform  prices  to  the  public 
and  in  restraining  the  small  group  of  retailers  who  injure 


PRICE-MAKING  AND  PRICE  PROTECTION       53 

standard  articles  by  cutting  the  price,  their  goods  are 
eventually  neglected  by  the  92%  of  retailers  who,  as  in- 
vestigation has  shown,  do  not  wish  to  cut  standard  prices. 

Manufacturers  who  sell  patented  articles  until  recent 
years  have  had  almost  unlimited  rights  to  fix  prices, 
punish  price-cutters  as  infringers  and  impose  restrictions 
not  only  upon  dealers  but  users.  The  spirit  of  recent  laws 
has  limited  these  privileges  somewhat,  but  the  ownership 
of  a  patent  still  grants  the  right  to  control  the  price  of 
an  article,  although  it  is  at  present  impossible  to  bring 
action  against  the  cutters. 

The  Victor  Talking  Machine  Co.  changed  its  plan  so  that 
legally  it  did  not  even  sell  its  machines  to  the  public.  It 
leases  them  both  to  the  retailer  and  to  the  public,  thus  at- 
tempting to  retain  the  right  to  fix  prices  and  restrictions. 
A  decision  has  been  rendered  in  the  case  of  R.  H.  Macy 
&  Co.,  department  store,  against  the  Victor  Co.,  upon  this 
method  of  maintaining  prices. 

However,  the  position  of  a  maker  of  an  unpatented 
article  is  very  different.  The  right  to  make  a  contract 
direct  with  a  dealer  not  to  sell  below  the  standard  price 
is  a  constitutional  right  that  is  not  in  danger.  But  only 
those  manufacturers  who  sell  goods  direct  to  retailers  can 
protect  prices  by  contract,  and  only  then  where  there  is 
no  monopoly.  AVhen  goods  are  sold  through  jobbers  or 
a  second  middleman,  the  question  of  price  contract  be- 
comes very  complex  and  no  case  has  yet  been  decided  in 
the  Supreme  Court  in  a  way  that  has  settled  the  matter 
finally. 

In  the  meantime,  those  selling  through  jobbers  must 
reply  on  (1)  encouragement,  (2)  moral  suasion,  (3)  re- 
fusal to  sell. 

The  exact  policy  of  a  house  with  regard  to  re-sale  price 
can  only  be  fixed  in  consultation  with  both  legal  and  mer- 
chandising counsel.    The  legislative  situation  has  of  recent 


54  MODERN  SALESIMANAGEMENT 

years  changed  so  frequently  that  no  definite  status  is  yet 
attained,  although  the  right  to  make  a  direct  to  retailer 
contract  or  to  exercise  the  right  of  choice  as  to  whom  to 
sell,  are  fundamental  rights.  The  June,  1919,  decision  of 
the  Supreme  Court  in  the  Colgate  case  thoroughly  estab- 
lishes the  right  of  a  maker  to  refuse  to  sell  any  distributor 
he  pleases. 

33.  General  Profit  and  Price  Policy. — There  is  no  single 
price  policy  that  has  been  found  perfect  in  all  cases.  But 
the  following  principles  or  outlines  of  policy  will  be  found 
to  be  important: 

a.  When  the  goods  have  become  firmly  entrenched  in 
the  minds  of  the  public  or  the  dealers,  the  manufacturer 
can  be  more  independent  in  his  price  policies  than  he 
could  otherwise.  Thus  3  in  1  oil  for  many  years  before 
an  automatic  demand  had  been  created,  allowed  a  jobber's 
margin  of  50%  on  the  theory  that  it  was  payment  for 
help  in  establishing  demand.  Quite  naturally  now  that 
demand  is  well  established  such  a  margin  would  be  ex- 
cessive and  was  therefore  reduced. 

b.  An  arbitrary  price  schedule,  with  moderate  mar- 
gins, is  almost  impossible  without  the  backing  of  a  heavy 
advertising  campaign,  as  has  been  shown  by  the  past  ex- 
perience of  prominent  advertisers. 

c.  If  the  margin  to  jobbers  and  to  retailers  allows  in- 
adequate profits,  it  acts  as  a  brake  on  the  sales. 

d.  If  the  margin  allows  too  large  a  profit,  it  encourages 
price  cutting  with  its  disastrous  effects  upon  the  reputa- 
tion of  the  manufacturer  and  his  goods. 

To  guard  against  this  evil,  for  example,  some  firms  limit 
by  agreement  the  lowest  "cut  price"  at  which  their  goods 
should  be  offered.  On  goods  retailing  at  25c,  they  allow 
a  cut  to  18c,  so  that  their  customers  when  necessary',  can 
compete  with  "cut  rate"  druggists  or  department  stores. 

e.  The  price  schedule  established  by  the  manufacturer 


PRICE-MAKING  AND  PRICE  PROTECTION       55 

should  provide  for  re-sale  price  as  between  jobber  and  re- 
tailer, and  a  retail  price  at  fixed  standards  for  the  same 
territories. 

Any  break  in  this  schedule  is  apt  to  cause  trouble  in 
distributing  organization. 

f.  In  order  to  equalize  freight  charged,  price  should  be 
made  to  include  the  freight  to  the  jobbing  center  nearest 
the  buyer;  thus  all  jobbers  are  put  on  an  equal  price 
basis. 

The  margins  of  gross  profit  generally  considered  fair 
for  the  retailer  is  from  25%  to  33%  ;  and  for  the  jobber 
from  10%  to  25%,  Naturally  both  classes  find  it  to  their 
advantage  to  show  that  they  should  have  a  larger  profit, 
and  an  educative  process  is  now  going  on  to  demonstrate 
that  rapid  turnover  and  salability  bring  more  profit  in  a 
year  than  percentage  of  profit,  and  that  both  cannot  logi- 
cally be  expected  by  distributors. 

34).  Special  Margin  Plans  and  Sliding  Scales. — For  exam- 
ple, in  the  drug  field  there  has  been  considerable  agita- 
tion for  the  "2,  4,  8"  price  policy.  That  is,  druggists 
prefer  to  buy  for  $2  a  dozen,  goods  retailing  at  $3  a 
dozen;  for  $4  a  dozen  goods  retailing  at  $6,  and  for  $8 
a  dozen  goods  retailing  at  $12,  Manufacturers  or  job- 
bers who  "fall  in"  with  this  policy  have  an  easier  time  of 
it  than  those  who  do  not. 

35.  The  Psychology  of  the  Retail  Price. — There  is  a  scien- 
tific and  an  unscientific  way  of  pricing  an  article  for  retail 
selling.  There  is  the  raw  "cut"  price  and  the  price  that 
calls  forth  least  resistance.  Actual  experiment  has  shown 
that  more  articles  of  the  same  sort  can  be  sold  at  lie  than 
could  be  sold  at  9c,  because  there  is  a  stronger  subcon- 
scious appeal  about  a  price  which  appears  to  be  a  cut  from 
15c  to  lie  than  one  which  appears  to  be  only  a  cut  of 
one  cent  from  10c. 

It  is  true  that  this  smacks  of  misrepresentation,  but  as 


56  ]\IODERN  SALES]\IANAGEMENT 

long  as  the  public  reacts  in  this  manner  it  is  a  factor  which 
must  be  considered. 

Then  there  is  also  the  problem  of  keeping  the  price  in 
the  channels  to  which  the  consumer  is  used.  It  is  often 
wiser  to  raise  the  price  of  an  article  which  you  might  be 
well  able  to  sell  for  65c  to  70c,  if  similar  articles  are  being 
sold  at  the  higher  price.  It  will  arouse  less  resistance  in 
the  mind  of  the  consumer  who  expects  to  pay  the  higher 
price  for  the  article.  At  the  same  time,  this  may  work  the 
other  way,  and  you  may  be  forced  to  lower  your  price  to 
meet  the  general  market  price  of  similar  commodities. 

Psychologically  speaking,  also,  price  actually  determines 
quality.  There  is  the  story  of  two  clubmen  who  wagered 
that  solid  gold  sovereigns  could  not  be  sold  for  a  penny 
a  piece.  One  of  the  gentlemen  settled  himself  on  a  bridge 
with  a  pocket  full  of  perfectly  good  sovereigns  and  after 
spending  about  three  hours  there,  offering  them  to  all 
passers-by  for  the  modest  sum  of  one  penny  succeeded  in 
selling  just  two.  They  were  too  cheap,  and  when  any- 
thing is  too  cheap,  people  are  naturally  skeptical. 

Prices  do  indeed  determine  quality  at  least  in  the  mind 
of  the  consumer,  which  is,  after  all,  the  main  thing.  It  is 
unfortunately  true  that  unscrupulous  psychological  skill 
may  succeed  in  fooling  the  people  for  a  while.  But  it  is 
suicidal  to  build  business  on  such  a  basis.  Sound  and 
lasting  considerations  are  the  only  wise  policies  to  consider. 

Another  bit  of  psychology  of  price  has  to  do  with  the 
matter  of  coins.  The  fewer  number  of  coins  required  the 
less  the  resistance.  Thus  the  reason  for  public  preference 
for  an  article  at  25  cents — a  single  coin — rather  than 
20  cents — requiring  two  coins.  The  matter  of  cents  intro- 
duces another  element,  however,  which  is  apparently  con- 
tradictory. An  article  costing  29  cents  (5  coins)  is  prefer- 
able to  any  article  at  30  cents  (2  coins)  but  only  because 
the  suggestion  of  a  cut  from  the  five  cents  unit  of  price. 


PRICE-MAKING  AND  PRICE  PROTECTION      57 

Where  pennies  are  a  factor,  the  number  of  coins  is  a  sec- 
ondary consideration — the  number  of  coins  operates  only 
in  cases  of  coins  not  including  pennies.  The  suggestion 
of  cut  in  price  from  a  standard  unit  in  price  is  then  not 
so  pronounced. 

Standard  price  units  are  great  factors  in  merchandising, 
as  the  5-  and  10-cent  stores  well  demonstrate.  The  num- 
ber of  sales  made  at  various  price  levels  gives  the  clue  to 
the  matter.  There  are  at  least  1,000  times  more  business 
transactions  at  5  cents  than  at  any  other  price ;  and  prob- 
ably 1,000  times  more  sales  made  at  10  cents  than  at  any 
other  price  excepting  5  cents.  Almost  any  sacrifice  short 
of  unbearable  losses  have  been  suffered  by  concerns  during 
the  war  period,  rather  than  get  away  from  well  established 
price  units. 

36.  Merchandising  a  Price. — It  is  often  a  necessary  part 
of  the  sales  effort  to  "sell"  the  price  of  an  article — some- 
times because  it  is  so  low — more  often  because  it  is  higher 
than  common  expectation  or  custom.  H.  J.  Heinz  is  re- 
ported to  have  told  a  salesman  who  complained  because  his 
trade  wanted  a  10-cent  can  of  tomatoes  rather  than  the 
Heinz  12-cent  can,  that  his  reply  should  be  that  a  12-cent 
price  with  all  it  meant  in  extra  quality  was  the  very  utter- 
most argument  the  salesman  had;  that  a  10-cent  price  and 
10-cent  quality  would  be  the  salesman's  doom — he  would 
no  longer  have  anything  to  sell  that  had  the  dignity  of 
quality — or  the  distinction  of  higher  price  which  proved 
it. 

Both  jobber,  dealer  and  consumer  must  be  sold  the  price ; 
and  a  salesmanager  needs  to  analyze  most  carefully  the 
resistance,  if  any,  which  his  price  encounters,  and  then 
aggressively  "merchandise"  it.  That  is,  make  out  the 
right  case  for  it — argue  it  and  demonstrate  its  logic  and 
its  meaning.  Quite  often  this  higher  price  line  of  argu- 
ment is  the  very  strongest  possible  sales  argument. 


58  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

Association  of  ideas  is  the  most  graphic  method  of  in- 
directly merchandising  a  price.  A  well-known  salesman- 
ager  used  it  for  instance  in  selling  chewing  gum,  not  be- 
cause the  price  required  especial  attention,  but  because  any 
price  should  be  merchandised  graphically.  People  gen- 
erally buy  gum  because  they  see  it.  It  was  therefore 
profitable  to  put  it  where  they  could  see  it,  and  at  the 
same  time  connect  it  up  with  the  5  cents  that  will  buy  it. 
He  displayed  the  packages  of  gum  beside  the  cash  regis- 
ter and  arranged  that  in  all  change  a  5-cent  piece  ap- 
peared. The  psychologj^  of  the  thing — merchandise  and 
the  money  necessary  to  purchase  it  appearing  so  close 
together — proved  itself  in  an  increase  of  about  100  per  cent 
in  chewing  gum  sales. 

37.  Protecting  Dealers  and  Jobbers  Against  Themselves  in 
Price  Policy. — Every  manufacturer  should  fix  a  specific 
price  for  the  re-sale  of  his  merchandise,  if  only  to  fix  an 
understood  profit  to  tiiose  who  must  handle  the  article  in 
its  journey  to  the  consumer.  He  cannot  rely  on  the  turn- 
over alone  to  repay  the  dealer.  After  he  has  fixed  on  a 
fair  profit  on  his  product  to  the  jobber  and  the  dealer,  he 
can  then  sell  them  on  the  turnover  and  show  them  how 
much  can  be  made,  over  and  above  the  first  profit. 

Such  a  policy  of  protection  is  necessary  because  of  the 
ignorance  of  the  dealer  which  has  to  be  reckoned  with. 
Manufacturers  must  realize  that  the  average  retailer  is  not 
a  merchant,  in  the  true  sense  of  the  word — he  is  often 
only  a  clerk.  He  does  not  apportion  his  expense  in  a  sci- 
entific way  so  that  he  knows  which  articles  in  his  store  pay 
him  a  profit — ^he  doesn't  know  how.  It  is  much  easier 
if  the  manufacturer  figures  a  profit  for  him  in  advance 
on  the  merchandise,  and  then  shows  him  how  the  turnover 
will  be  just  so  much  added  profit. 

Every  failure  to  maintain  a  price  policy  makes  the  suc- 
ceeding attempt  more  difficult. 


PRICE-MAKING  AND  PRICE  PROTECTION      59 

The  resale  price  must  be  sold  to  the  dealer.  Ninety 
per  cent  of  dealers  are  already  well  sold,  but  the  2%  make 
the  trouble. 

Some  jobbers  may  say  that  they  cannot  maintain  prices ; 
that  the  retailer  won 't  stand  for  it.  Aggressive  sales  man- 
agers meet  this  by  sending  men  into  the  territory  who  suc- 
cessfully sell  at  their  prices,  for  cash,  direct  to  the  retailer, 
and  the  difference  between  the  retail  and  jobbing  prices 
is  handed  over,  in  actiuil  cash,  to  the  jobber  who  has  been 
accustomed  to  getting  that  particular  retailer's  trade. 
This  square  but  determined  policy  usually  wins. 

Over  and  over  again  the  distributors  may  need  to  be 
shown  that  the  resale  price  means  greater  profit  to  them, 
which  is  the  only  thing  in  which  they  are  really  at  bottom 
interested.  A  price  policy  is  in  reality  only  as  good  as  the 
salesmanagement  behind  it. 

38.  Zone  System  for  Jobbing  and  Retail  Prices. — Few 
sellers  of  merchandise  fully  realize  what  an  enormous 
country  this  is.  Much  waste  and  inefficiency  is  going  on, 
due  to  neglect  of  the  differing  conditions  of  temperature, 
freight  haul,  etc. 

Following  the  scientific  methods  of  the  students  of  rail- 
way rates,  a  number  of  manufacturers  have  been  operating 
successfully  a  zone  system  of  prices  which  takes  the  place 
of  a  uniform  price  maintenance  plan,  regardless  of  geog- 
raphy. For  many  lines  of  goods  this  plan  is  very  valu- 
able and  uniformly  satisfactory  to  dealers. 

The  country  is  split  up  into  six  zones,  designated  by  an 
alphabetic  symbol.  For  each  of  these  zones  a  printed 
schedule  of  both  jobbing  and  retail  prices  are  printed  for 
all  numbers  of  merchandise  sold.  These  prices  are  based 
on  carefully  worked  out  freight  averages.  (A  similar 
plan  is  to  have  prices  the  same,  but  have  different  zone  dis- 
counts. ) 

The  following  zone  map  is  one  used  by  a  well-known 


60  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

manufacturer  located  in  a  central  Ohio  point,  which  is  an 
average  manufacturing  situation.  Some  of  the  zones  seem 
very  arbitrary,  but  are  nevertheless  based  on  transporta- 
tion factors.  Eetail  prices  are  made  to  vary  slightly  from 
this  zone  plan,  as  per  notation  in  the  following  boundary 
descriptions — due  to  uneven  jobbing  reaches.  Some  crude 
systems  use  only  three  subdivisions,  or  follow  traffic  associ- 
ation zones,  which,  however,  were  not  laid  out  for  such 
purpose. 

A. — Jobbing  prices  must  be  maintained  at  jobbing  points 
in  the  part  of  the  United  States  bounded  on  the  west  by 
the  ninety- fourth  meridian  (which  passes  through  St. 
Cloud,  Minn.,  Fort  Dodge,  Iowa,  and  Richmond,  Mo.)  ;  on 
the  southwest  by  the  Missouri  River  and  the  Mississippi 
River  (including  river  points)  ;  and  on  the  south  by  the 
Kentucky-Tennessee   and  Virginia-North   Carolina  lines. 

B. — Jobbing  prices  must  be  maintained  at  all  jobbing 
points  between  the  ninety-fourth  meridian  (which  passes 
through  St.  Cloud,  Minn.,  Fort  Dodge,  Iowa,  and  Rich- 
mond, Mo.)  ;  and  the  Ninety-Seventh  meridian  (which 
passes  through  Madison,  S.  Dak.,  Seward,  Nebr.,  and  Ma- 
rion, Kans.)  as  far  as  the  southern  boundary  of  Kansas; 
also  in  southern  Missouri,  in  Tennessee,  and  the  Caro- 
linas. 

Retail  prices  shown  in  columns  A  and  B  must  be  main- 
tained in  New  England  States,  New  York,  New  Jersey, 
Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  Maryland,  Virginia,  West  Vir- 
ginia, North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Michigan,  Ohio,  In- 
diana, Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Wisconsin,  Illinois,  Minnesota, 
Iowa,  Missouri,  Kansas  (east  of  the  ninety-seventh  meri- 
dian), Nebraska  (east  of  the  ninety-seventh  meridian). 

C. — Jobbing  prices  must  be  maintained  at  all  jobbing 
points  in  the  Dakotas,  Kansas  and  Nebraska  west  of  the 
ninety-seventh  meridian;  in  Arkansas,  Louisiana,  Missis- 
sippi, Alabama  and  Georgia. 


PRICE-MAKING  AND  PRICE  PROTECTION      61 

Retail  prices  shown  in  column  C  must  be  maintained  in 
Georgia,  Alabama,  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  Arkansas, 
Kansas  (west  of  the  ninety-seventh  meridian),  Nebraska 
(west  of  the  ninety-seventh  meridian),  North  Dakota, 
South  Dakota. 

D. — Jobbing  prices  must  be  maintained  at  jobbing  points 
in  Florida,  Oklahoma,  Pacific  Coast  States,  Denver  and 
common  points. 

E. — Jobbing  prices  must  be  maintained  at  jobbing  points 
in  Texas  and  at  Spokane,  and  common  points. 

Retail  prices  shown  in  columns  D  and  E  must  be  main- 
tained in  Florida,  Texas,  Oklahoma,  Washington,  Oregon, 
California,  Denver  and  common  points. 

P. — Jobbing  prices  must  be  maintained  at  Rocky  Moun- 
tain jobbing  points. 

Retail  prices  shown  in  column  F  must  be  maintained  in 
New  Mexico,  Arizona,  Colorado  (except  Denver  and  com- 
mon points),  Utah,  Nevada,  Idaho,  Wyoming,  Montana, 
all  Rocky  Mountain  points. 

39.  Advanced  Geo^aphical  Price  Equalization. — In  cer- 
tain respects,  the  zone  system  of  price  equalization  has 
not  been  satisfactory,  though  it  is  the  best  thing  there  is, 
short  of  the  radical  step  of  freight  prepayment. 

This  step  has  been  taken  by  a  number  of  concerns, 
among  them  a  famous  breakfast  food.  Then  prices  are 
exactly  the  same  to  all  (even  quantity  prices  having  been 
done  away  with)  whether  in  Florida,  Maine  or  California. 
The  price  is  "F.O.B.  jobbing  point,"  meaning  any  point 
where  a  jobber  may  have  a  warehouse,  or  even  (in  5-case 
lots  when  the  100  lb.  freight  rate  may  be  used  to  full  ad- 
vantage) sending  the  goods  direct  to  the  retailer  for  the 
jobber. 

The  prices  have  been  shaped  up  after  a  close  study  of 
freight  rate  averages  for  a  number  of  years,  and  risks 
are  calculated  after  the  manner  of  insurance  actuary  sta- 


62  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

tistics.     This  policy  is  likely  to  gain  more  and  more  follow- 
ers, as  is  also  entire  abolition  of  quantity  prices. 

The  trouble  with  zone  systems  is  twofold.  Unavoidable 
overlapping  of  zones,  and  impracticability  of  planning 
zones  which  equalize  transportation  differences.  The  re- 
sulting controversy  is  sometimes  troublesome  to  handle,  in 
the  case  of  very  widely  distributed  goods. 


CHAPTER  YI 

THE  SHAPING  OF  SOUND  MARKETING  POLICIES 

40.  The  "Vital  Need  of  Definite  Sales  Policies. — In  any 

undertaking  which  deals  with  so  many  human  elements 
and  far-reaching  factors  and  conditions,  well-defined  policy 
is  the  foremost  requirement.  In  such  a  complicated  and 
delicately  balanced  a  task  as  salesmanagement,  failure  is 
very  likely  to  follow — 

1.  Absence  of  policy. 

2.  Lack  of  complete  policy. 

3.  Weak  or  vacillating  policy. 

4.  "Wrong  policy. 

5.  Policies  which  are  in  existence  but  not  applied  and 
operated. 

6.  Policies  stupidly  or  bunglingly  applied. 

There  are  very  few  concerns  which  at  any  given  moment 
are  not  suffering  to  some  degree  from  one  or  more  of  the 
above  ailments.  Formulating  and  applying  correct  poli- 
cies are  about  the  hardest  mental  jobs  which  a  salesman- 
ager  and  his  advisers  are  called  upon  to  perform.  It  is 
natural,  therefore,  that  they  be  neglected  in  favor  of  what 
look  like  more  immediate  and  concrete  matters  of  impor- 
tance. There  are  always  strong  temptations  to  live  in  the 
moment  and  use  temporary  expedience  rather  than  wise 
policy.  In  fact,  it  takes  a  certain  breadth  of  mind  and 
business  wisdom  to  realize  that  policies  are  necessary  at 
all;  and  a  good  deal  of  courage  to  sacrifice  present  gain 
for  the  vague  assurance  of  greater  success  through  ad- 

63 


64  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

herence  to  another  policy.  The  typical  salesman  cast  of 
mind  is  particularly  amenable  to  the  use  of  mere  expedi- 
ency. 

A  sales  organization  is  a  disorganized  mob  without  poli- 
cies, and  has  no  individuality  without  a  complete  set  of 
policies.  Serious  complications  often  arise  which  consume 
much  energy  and  time.  It  is  not  nearly  so  serious  for  a 
live  firm  to  have  wrong  policies  as  to  have  vacillating  or 
inoperative  policies.  A  live  finn  needs  only  to  be  shown  its 
wrong  policies  to  change  them.  The  deadly  thing  is  a 
careless  and  dilatory  attitude  toward  policies,  and  a  ne- 
glect to  adhere  to  them  rigidly.  Policies  are  not  policies 
when  not  adhered  to  rigidly;  they  become  effective  and 
beneficial  only  when  operated  with  more  than  usual  punc- 
tiliousness in  the  exceptional  and  tempting  cases,  as  well 
as  the  ordinary  situations.  The  disciplinary  effect  upon 
an  entire  organization  of  well  conceived  and  actively 
operated  policies  is  very  great.  The  disorganizing  effect 
of  policies  neglected  and  inadequate  is  equally  great. 

The  goodwill  effect  upon  distributors,  customers,  and 
even  the  effect  upon  competitors  is  far  greater  than  is 
commonly  understood.  Next  to  the  honesty  and  integrity 
of  a  house,  its  consistent  adherence  to  policies  (even  when 
the  policies  are  disagreed  with)  brings  respect  and  confi- 
dence. It  is  the  policy-less  or  vacillating  firm  which  is 
distrusted.  A  public  man  is  judged  and  wishes  to  be 
judged  upon  his  policies.  The  same  should  be  true  of  a 
good  sales  organization. 

41.  Difference  Between  Policy  and  Principle. — Much  con- 
fusion exists  in  regard  to  the  words  principle  and  policy — 
both  of  them  important  words  in  salesmanagement.  The 
definition  is  that  a  principle  is  a  standard  which  should 
never  be  lowered  or  deviated  from,  because  based  on  per- 
manent considerations.  A  policy,  on  the  other  hand,  is  a 
line  of  action  or  idea  which  is  built  to  fit  a  condition,  and 


SOUND  MARKETING  POLICIES  65 

not  only  maif,  but  should  be  changed  or  altered  as  soon  as 
conditions  change. 

A  firm  should  carefully  separate  its  principles  and  poli- 
cies and  educate  everyone  to  understand  the  difference. 
Honesty  is  not  a  policy,  it  is  a  principle.  A  firm  may  have 
deep  objections  on  principle  to  such  practices  as  rebatingj 
secrete  commissions,  inside  prices  to  special  favorites,  etc. 
On  the  other  hand  it  may  be  a  pali-cy  of  the  firm  to  guar- 
antee goods  in  a  certain  way,  or  to  maintain  a  certain 
service  plan,  or  dealer  cooperation  method. 

Principle  concerns  itself  with  matters  of  fundamental 
importance — policy  with  details  of  immediate  importance 
and  expedience.  Policies  may  be  operated  because  of 
certain  principles  held  by  the  firm,  but  policies  always  re- 
main policies  nevertheless,  because  they  deal  with  detail 
application  of  principle. 

In  sales  conferences  it  is  always  important  to  keep 
these  distinctions  in  view,  for  very  strong  temptations 
constantly  arise  and  tend  to  make  principle  and  policies 
yield.  Change  in  policy  is  always  debatable,  but  change 
in  sound  principle,  never.  Many  a  salesmanager  has  been 
shipwrecked  on  this  question — yielding  ground  against 
principle,  only  to  find  what  everyone  else  finds  out,  that 
principles  cannot  successfully  be  flouted  in  the  long  run. 
Secret  price  concessions  finally  disorganize  a  busmess ; 
so  does  toying  with  the  dazzling  rewards  of  pure  expedi- 
ence and  the  paying  double  and  triple  later. 

A  clear  sense  of  distinction  between  policy  and  principle 
soon  brings  order  out  of  chaos  and  solves  many  an  appar- 
ently hopeless  situation.  Many  bad  snarls  in  disputes 
between  distributors  or  salesmen  or  between  department 
executives  unravel  themselves  as  soon  as  the  policies  are 
disentangled  from  the  principles  involved,  as  soon  as  defi- 
nite policies  and  principles  are  formulated.  Many  con- 
cerns have  never  given  any  conscious  thought  to  the  mat- 


G6  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

ter  of  policies  and  principles,  beyond  verj^  elemental  things. 
Consequently  they  are  operating  without  a  clearly  defined 
attitude  on  many  matters  of  importance  which  affect  them, 
and  as  result  they  are  rather  characterless  and  ineffective. 

Lack  of  policies  and  principles  may  be  even  more  harm- 
ful than  if  they  are  mixed  up  or  unusually  selected.  A 
thing  which  has  some  definite  direction,  however  wrong, 
is  better  off  than  something  without  direction. 

42.  Matters  for  Which  Policies  Are  Important. — As  many 
businesses  grow  more  or  less  like  Topsy,  in  a  careless  and 
casual  manner,  adopting  policies  only,  when  they  feelj 
compelled  to  by  pressure,  it  is  valuable  to  examine  a  list 
of  the  most  important  items  which  call  for  policies. 

This  list  might  very  well  be  regarded  as  a  check  list 
for  any  firm  to  hold  up  the  mirror  to  itself  to  discover  if 
it  has  adequate  policies  on  all  the  points  requiring  policy. 
These  points  are: 

1.  Standard  character  of  the  service  or  the  goods  sold. 

2.  Guarantee  to  go  with  the  article,  and  general  con- 
sumer policy. 

3.  Price,  price  protection  and  scale  of  discounts  to  be 
maintained. 

4.  Experiment  and  analysis  upon  which  article  is  de- 
veloped or  based. 

5.  Finishing,  shaping  and  packaging  of  article. 

6.  Claims  made  for  goods. 

7.  General  type  and  personality  of  the  business. 

8.  Policy  of  development,  growth,  expansion. 

9.  Policy  toward  competitors. 

10.  Policy  toward  trade  and  distributors. 

11.  Policy  toward  employees. 

12.  Policy  toward  methods  of  accounting. 

13.  Financial  policy. 

14.  Credit  policy. 


SOUND  MARKETING  POLICIES  67 

15.  Purchasing  policy. 

16.  Policy  of  salesmanship  and  sales  method. 

There  are,  of  course,  many  more  matters — some  equally 
important,  but  mostly  detail  matters — coming  under  the 
above  subheads,  which  also  require  policies.  The  firm 
which  has  sound  and  complete  policies  on  the  above  mat- 
ters may  be  said  to  be  up  to  par  on  policy. 

43.  How  to  Measure  the  Efficiency  of  a  Policy. — Policies 
are  often  too  quickly  and  frequently  decided.  It  is  for- 
gotten that  since  policy  is  next  in  importance  to  principle, 
there  are  many  considerations  which  need  attention  before 
a  policy  can  be  shaped  finally. 

What  are  the  tests  for  sound  policy?  The  following 
are  the  principal  ones:     A  sound  policy  should  be 

1.  In  accord  with  legislation  and  social  and  economic 
conditions. 

Example:  Goods  known  to  have  been  made  in  sweat- 
shops or  without  meeting  the  requirements  of  food  or  drug 
laws  are  not  popular.  Goods  sold  in  contravention  of  laws 
discredit  a  firm. 

2.  In  accord  with  the  tendency  of  the  time,  but  not  too 
far  ahead  of  the  times,  before  the  public  is  "ripe"  for  it. 

Example:  Firms  gain  public  good-will  by  making  it 
known  that  they  take  a  close  and  deep  interest  in  their  em- 
ployees. 

3.  The  policy  must  be  stated  clearly  and  concisely;  the 
simpler  and  shorter  the  better. 

4.  It  should  be  more  liberal  than  that  of  competitors. 
This  is  one  of  the  surest  ways  of  triumphing  over  competi- 
tion without  cutting  prices,  or  even  at  higher  prices. 

Example:  If  one  firm  guarantees  "unconditional  satis- 
faction" it  will  draw  customers  away  from  the  competitor 
whose  guarantee  is  hedged  about  with  "ifs"  and  "condi- 
tions." 


68  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

5.  It  should  be  far-seeing,  so  that  tlie  firm  will  benefit 
by  the  development  of  future  tendencies  either  of  the  pub- 
lic or  the  trade. 

Example :  "When  Mr.  Carnegie  made  his  most  promising 
assistants  partners,  a  less  farseeing  chief  would  have 
feared  to  give  away  too  much  of  his  profit,  but  Mr.  Car- 
negie's success  proved  his  judgment  correct. 

6.  It  should  be  made  known  as  widely  as  possible  to 
those  interested. 

(That  is  why  large  finns  issue  printed  instructions  and 
manuals,  why  others  advertise  their  policy  liberally  in  pub- 
lications, on  packages,  and  through  other  mediums.) 

7.  It  should  be  susceptible  to  changes  when  modified 
conditions  very  clearly  demand  it. 

8.  Time  and  energy  saving;  clearing  the  air  of  mis- 
understanding and  permitting  employees  to  act  for  the 
company  without  making  mistakes. 

9.  Compromise  with  the  difficulties  of  a  situation  in 
the  way  most  completely  to  the  justice  and  satisfaction  of 
all  concerned. 

10.  Inspired  respect  and  confidence  in  all  concerned. 

Any  policy  needs  constant  retesting  for  efficiency.  Em- 
ployees and  others  should  be  encouraged  to  register 
"kicks"  against  policies,  since  they  may  give  the  cue  to 
real  need  for  change  or  amendment,  or  else  afford  an- 
other opportunity  to  ''sell"  the  houses'  policy  to  someone 
who  is  not  ''sold." 

Periodically,  dealer  or  consumer  investigations  should  be 
made  not  only  to  check  up  the  status  of  the  houses'  poli- 
cies, but  also  to  discover  the  relative  rank  of  the  house  and 
its  competitors  in  the  matter  of  reputation  for  its  policies. 

44.  Featuring  a  Single  Policy  as  a  Keynote. — Because  in- 
dividuality is  of  decided  value  in  selling,  it  is  sometimes 
highly  logical  and  desirable  to  give  a  single  important 
policy  limelight  and  advertising.     In  fact  many  businesses 


SOUND  MARKETING  POLICIES 


69 


owe  their  reason  for  existence  to  a  policy;  and  therefore 
such,  a  policy  is  the  central  pivot  on  which  the  business 
swings.  It  naturally  follows  that  the  advertising  of  such 
a  policy  becomes  very  important.  For  this  reason  slogans 
are  often  made  representing  the  keynote  policies,  and  these 
slogans  are  so  much  repeated  that  they  become  as  familiar 
as  the  name  of  the  company. 

Among  the  illustrations  of  such  featured  policies  might 
be  listed  the  following: 


Loft's  Candy 
Huyler's  Candy 

Eaton's  Great  Stores 

H.  J.  Heinz  Co. 

Pullman  Co. 
Filene  &  Sons 

Astor  Estate 

Worth  of  Paris 

Simmons  Hardware  Co. 


National  City  Bank 
New  York 

Wood,  Harmon  &  Co. 


Hudson  River  Tunnels 


"Penny  a  Pound  Profit." 

The  name  lends  prestige  to 
the  giver. 

Cash  by  mail  or  over  the 
counter. 

Purity  and  Great  Variety 
(57). 

Courtesy. 

Employees  have  a  voice  in 
management. 

Avoid  making  improvements 
in  real  estate  owned. 

Creation  of  Innovation  and 
Advance  Styles. 

''Recollection  of  Quality  re- 
mains, after  the  Price  is 
Forgotten." 

■Extreme  Promptness 
(achieved  through  a  day 
and  a  night  staff). 

Buy  back  real  estate  within  a 
(specified  time  from  dis- 
satisfied investors  at  orig- 
inal price  paid. 

"Let  the  Public  be  Pleased." 


70  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

Although  these  firms'  policies  are  often  epitomized  in  a 
slogan,  yet  in  many  eases  (for  instance  the  Pullman  Co.) 
very  full  details  concerning  their  application  are  given  in 
the  form  of  manuals.  Investigation  shows  this  to  be  the 
most  approved  method.  It  is  deadly  for  a  much  adver- 
tised policy  to  be  mishandled  by  an  ill-trained  employee. 
If  much  is  claimed,  much  must  be  delivered.  At  the  same 
time,  empty  slogans  and  mere  generalities  are  harmful,  as 
they  give  an  air  of  insincerity  of  policy, 

45.  Profiting  by  Competitor's  Weakness  of  Policy. — Fre- 
quently a  weak  point  in  a  competitor's  policies  or  lack  of 
policies  will  create  a  valuable  opportunity  to  start  a  new 
business.  For  example,  the  neglect  of  old-fashioned 
cracker  bakers  as  to  the  condition  of  their  soda  crackers 
sold  from  large  boxes  or  barrels,  encouraged  a  group  of 
men,  not  cracker  bakers  at  all,  to  build  the  wonderful  suc- 
cess of  Uneeda  Biscuit — with  the  policy  of  fresh,  sanitary 
untouched  goods. 

Still  more  frequently  there  is  opportunity  in  a  competi- 
tor's weakness  of  policy  to  formulate  a  correspondingly 
strong  policy  aimed  to  show  up  his  weakness  and  capitalize 
it. 

A  manufacturer  who  is  autocratic  and  stiff  in  his  policy 
to  distributors  opens  the  way  for  success  to  another  con- 
cern who  features  liberality  to  distributors.  A  concern 
which  has  no  policy  of  communication  with  the  public 
shows  a  weak  spot  to  a  competitor  who  will  reverse  this 
policy.  A  concern  whose  policy  is  high  price  and  moder- 
ate volume  of  sales  opens  itself  to  the  competition  of  a 
policy  of  low  price  and  large  volume.  A  firm  which  elects 
to  grow  intensively,  working  one  state  or  section  at  a 
time,  will  likely  inspire  a  competitor  to  cover  the  entire 
country  in  order  to  be  first  to  reach  at  least  the  most 
strategically  important  territory.  Further  examples  in 
any  number  might  be   cited;  but  other  aspects  of  this 


SOUND  MARKETING  POLICIES  71 

subject  are  to  be  found  both  in  the  chapter  on  "Meeting 
Competition"  and  also  on  "Sales  Strategy." 

A  competitor's  policies  are  important  to  know,  first  to 
comprehend  the  exact  nature  of  resistance  to  be  encoun- 
tered, and  second,  to  be  able  sufficiently  to  individualize 
and  make  distinctive  and  separate  the  policies  of  a  house. 
A  firm's  policies  are  in  a  measure  what  clothes  are  to  a 
man — they  should  be  tailored  to  fit  the  individuality  of  the 
house,  and  they  are  an  expression  of  the  house. 

46.  Policy  and  the  Twenty-Year  Point  of  View. — All  busi- 
nesses presumably  are  intended  to  continue  for  a  long 
time.  However  much  profits  for  this  year  are  desired, 
continued  profits  are  even  more  desired,  because  all  busi- 
nesses make  considerable  initial  sacrifice  in  the  hope  of 
future  gain. 

The  correct  outlook,  in  formulating  policies,  is  there- 
fore at  least  twenty  years  ahead.  Policies  which  do  not 
take  into  account  the  forces  which  operate  in  a  way  to 
affect  business  20  years  from  now,  are  not  really  adequate 
policies.  Salesmanagement  often  suffers  deeply  from  lack 
of  systematic  looking  ahead.  A  straight  line  toward  a 
sales  goal,  carefully  developed  and  planned,  is  the  short- 
est distance  and  costs  least  money.  There  is  no  reason 
why  the  specific  development  of  a  business  should  not  be 
blue-printed,  year  upon  year,  project  by  project,  for  10 
to  20  years  ahead ;  and  then  have  sales  executives  endeavor 
with  that  goal  before  them,  to  plan  their  work  to  reach  it. 
Goals  of  certain  figures  in  volume  to  be  achieved  in  a  year 
are  planned  for  too  brief  a  span — there  should  be  a  one- 
year  and  a  five-  or  three-year  goal  set. 

There  is  no  reason  why  a  sales  project  cannot  be  planned 
just  as  you  blueprint  a  plan  for  your  new  house.  You 
know  while  the  cellar  is  being  dug  just  how  the  garret  is 
going  to  be.  The  details  are  all  on  paper,  and  a  time  sched- 
ule of  operations  is  not  a  theoretical  proposition  in  busi- 


72  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

oesB,  but  a  highly  practical  one.  One  concern  which  did 
this  had  a  blueprint  made  up  with  specific  goals  for  each 
year.  In  1916  it  had  itself  scheduled  to  open  a  San  Fran- 
cisco office,  and  did  so.  In  1917  it  planned  to  have  a  dis- 
tributing station  in  Kansas  City — and  now  has  one.  It  is 
living  up  even  in  present  unexpected  conditions,  to  its  goal. 
This  firm  would  no  doubt  have  "let  down"  during  business 
depression  periods  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  blueprint. 
A  copy  of  it  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  every  employee 
and  agent,  thus  most  definitely  committing  the  company. 
Pride  kept  them  following  their  program.  Not  only  the 
executives  of  the  organization  knew  what  they  were  plan- 
ning to  do,  but  each  employee  of  the  organization  was 
stimulated  and  keyed  up  to  understand  that  if  he  fell  down 
in  that  companj^,  it  was  he  who  kept  the  firm  from  its 
legitimate  growth. 

Such  policy  has  a  galvanic  effect  on  the  entire  organiza- 
tion, since  it  makes  clear  the  objectives,  the  long  objec- 
tives; and  gives  each  individual  that  long  distance  per- 
spective of  the  firm's  destination  which  is  so  important  to 
an  employee's  right  feeling. 

No  doubt  some  of  the  goals  set  for  a  20-year  period  will 
become  obsolete  and  be  changed.  But  this  does  not  de- 
tract from  the  merit  of  the  plan,  nor  does  it  hurt  the  pres- 
tige of  the  firm  if  the  goal  is  somewhat  changed,  so  long 
as  the  sense  of  progress  and  forward  movement  is  re- 
tained. 

A  temporary  policy  may  result  in  the  need  for  enormous- 
ly costly  changes  to  be  made  after  four  or  five  years  of 
heavy  investment  in  a  policy  which  cannot  be  continued. 
Now  the  need  for  such  costly  revision  of  policy  might,  and 
probably  certainly,  could  have  been  foreseen  at  the  start 
by  a  slight  expenditure  of  time  and  money  in  securing  the 
right  information  on  conditions  and  probabilities.  A  sales 
counselor  trained  to  analyze  trade  and  merchandise  tend- 


SOUND  MARKETING  POLICIES  73 

encies,  economic  changes,  legislation  and  the  public  tem- 
per may  be  able  to  render  enormously  valuable  counsel  in 
such  long  sighted  planning. 

47.  Policies  and  the  Human  Equation. — Policies  are  really 
merely  the  reflections  of  men.  No  matter  how  thorough  a 
set  of  policies  are  adopted,  they  will  not  ' '  stay  put, "  or  be 
carried  through  under  storm  and  stress,  unless  the  men  are 
as  big  as  their  policies.  There  are  some  business  heads 
who  are  known  to  be  chronically  unable  to  stand  by  a  set 
of  policies ;  they  shift  from  one  set  to  another  with  chame- 
leon-like facility.  They  are  afflicted  with  the  habit  of  mak- 
ing ready  decisions  in  conference,  only  to  neglect  them 
when  they  come  out  of  the  conference  room.  They  "slip 
back"  on  nearly  everything  really  big  and  important 
they  decide.  They  are  unable  to  "sell"  themselves  on 
their  own  decisions ;  or  they  procrastinate  with  fatal  readi- 
ness. A  decision  should  be  simultaneous  with  action,  for 
the  conditions  on  which  the  decision  was  made  change 
rapidly. 

It  may  be  well  to  repeat  here  that  some  matters  call 
for  principles  and  others  for  policies,  and  that  while  prin- 
ciples should  never  be  altered,  policies  ofttimes  need  amend- 
ment and  development  to  meet  new  conditions.  Some  men 
are  too  stiff  with  policies  and  others  altogether  too  liquid. 
Some  refuse  to  change  policies  because  they  confuse  them 
with  unalterable  principles,  yet  there  are  only  about  five 
principles  which  a  sales  executive  should  set  his  face  against 
changing.     They  are: 

1.  To  make  a  thoroughly  good  product  and  sell  and  ad- 
vertise it  for  exactly  what  it  is  on  principles  of  integrity  and 
honor  in  every  contact  with  public  or  with  distributors. 

2.  To  regard  reputation  and  good  will  for  the  house  as 
an  institution  as  the  most  important  ingredient  in  the  mer- 
chandise; and  therefore  look  at  all  matters  from  the  20- 
year  point  of  view. 


74  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

3.  To  take  a  positive,  aggressive,  progressive  and  educa^ 
tional  attitude  toward  the  market  and  the  field. 

4.  To  have  a  sale  represent  at  least  25%  service  and 
75%  merchandise. 

5.  To  keep  ever  perfecting  and  humanizing  the  or- 
ganization. 

That  part  of  a  salesmanager 's  job  which  has  to  do  with 
securing  sanction  from  executives  higher  up  for  policies 
deemed  necessary  by  him  is  another  troublesome  phase  of 
policy-making  and  policy-keeping. 

No  Salesmanager  will  rise  very  far  if  he  has  not  got  the 
capacity  to  build  up  the  breadth  of  vision  of  his  own  higher 
executives.  It  is  a  necessary  part  of  his  technical  training, 
for  the  reason  that  sales  conditions  are  so  frequently  for- 
eign to  the  temperament  of  the  men  at  the  head  of  a  busi- 
ness, while  the  degree  of  courage,  stamina,  and  forward 
movement  demanded  by  aggressive  sales  policies  are  such 
that  the  salesmanager  must  needs  be  able  to  carry  his 
higher  executives  with  him  into  somewhat  radical  moves 
and  expenditures  based  on  conceptions  of  policy  and  in- 
vestigative data.  If  he  tries  to  "go  it  alone, ' '  he  will  find 
that  he  will  be  tagged  with  a  failure  which  he  cannot  well 
explain  to  outsiders.  He  needs  to  be  a  big  enough  man  to 
widen  the  perspective  of  his  superiors  regarding  the  mar- 
ket— in  other  words  be  a  real,  sure-enough  salesman  to  sell 
the  sales  work  to  the  financial  or  manufacturing  or  ac- 
counting types  of  mind  he  finds  above  him.  In  the  solv- 
ing of  this  problem  he  must  respect  information  deeply, 
use  it  strategically  and  know  how  to  present  it  to  men 
higher  up  so  that  it  will  "get  home." 

48,.  The  Importance  of  the  Man  in  Sales  Success. — At  the 
very  outset,  sound  marketing  policy  on  the  part  of  execu- 
tives and  boards  of  directors  higher  up  should  concern  itself 
with  the  personnel  of  its  sales  executive  positions.  It  is  not 
sound  marketing  policy  to  get  sales  at  any  cost,  or  to  get 


SOUND  MARKETING  POLICIES  75 

sales  too  rapidly  or  on  an  unwise  basis  of  argument  or 
campaign  or  by  men  who  do  not  reflect  the  right  spirit  and 
atmosphere  vital  to  the  houses'  continued  reputation. 

Successful  sales  building,  as  in  successful  business  build- 
ing generally,  depends  on  (1)  men,  (2)  information  and  (3) 
policies.  The  greatest  of  all  these  is  men,  for  with  men  we 
create  organization,  which  is  the  most  important  of  all 
sales  tools.  From  knowledge  and  experience  with  men's 
character  and  insight  we  develop  and  maintain  policies 
and  principles.  A  manufacturer's  business  is  usually  just 
about  as  big  as  he  and  his  executives  and  advisers,  and  no 
bigger.  But  what  is  more  important  still,  as  soon  as  a 
house  grows  bigger  it  needs  to  understand  policy  and  prin- 
ciple more  in  detail  than  ever,  and  also  to  appreciate  the 
need  of  men  and  information  more  than  ever,  so  that  it 
will  be  capable  of  both  formulating  and  carrying  out  pol- 
icies of  the  calibre  demanded. 

A  prominent  manufacturer  has  said  that  even  if  his 
factory  should  burn  down  and  his  records  be  lost  or  his 
capital  wiped  away — still  he  could  quickly  duplicate  his 
business  if  he  had  his  men,  for  they  and  their  character 
commanded  the  credit  which  would  furnish  new  capital, 
while  their  brains  and  salesmanship  and  capacity  for  mak- 
ing and  operating  right  policies  would  quickly  duplicate 
the  work  apparently  lost. 

In  an  astonishing  number  of  cases  scles  success  is  not  a 
question  of  methods  or  plans  to  reach  a  given  goal,  but 
always  a  question  of  m&n  who  will  adequately,  coura- 
geously and  intelligently  carry  them  out.  There  are  many 
capable  of  laying  out  the  lines  of  development  and  plans  of 
operation  for  any  average  business — but  the  real  job  is  to 
bring  together  and  keep  together  the  men  who  will  work 
out  those  plans  with  wisdom,  skill  and  consistent  aggres- 
siveness. Salesmanagers  who  meet  such  requirements  are 
not  plentiful. 


CHAPTER  VII 

ACHIEVING  SUCCESSFUL  DISTKIBUTION 

49.  Automatic  Sales  Through  Smooth  Running  Distribu- 
tion.— Quantity  selling  is  the  greatest  modern  profit  pol- 
icy— and  quantity  selling  is  only  possible  when  backed  by 
a  system,  a  machine,  an  organization  of  disiri'bution.  One 
box  of  cartridges  sold  each  week  in  one  store  seems  an 
infinitesimal  amount  of  business,  but  when  there  are  80,000 
stores  each  selling  for  you  at  least  that  amount  each,  as  has 
the  Remington  Arms-Union  Metallic  Cartridge  Co.,  large 
aggregate  sales  become  possible.  The  same  is  true  of  In- 
gersoU  watches.  The  little  profit  on  a  dollar  watch  is  not 
much ;  but  multiplied  by  the  70,000  or  more  stores  that  are 
selling,  the  profit  on  the  volume  of  business  is  large. 

Automatic  Selling  is  the  ideal  of  all  salesmanagement, 
whether  for  a  staple  or  a  specialty,  and  it  is  the  ideal  to 
strive  for  in  building  any  distributive  organization.  By 
"Automatic  Selling"  is  meant  continuous  repeat  orders 
coming  on  because  of  ideas  of  quality  or  service  engen- 
dered in  consumers  and  aggressive  selling  help  from  re- 
tailers and  jobbers.  There  are  hundreds  of  firms  making 
good  articles  which  could  be  sold  in  large  quantities  at  a 
fair  profit  if  their  executives  had  ability  to  build  a  larger 
distributing  organization  and  knew  how  to  keep  up  an 
even  sales  development  which  brought  a  steady  stream  of 
repeat  orders. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  the  "key  log  in  the  jam"  of  most 
manufacturing  concerns'  failure  to  reach  greater  size  is  the 
inability  to  get  beyond  a  certain  localized  or  limited  dis- 
tribution.    All  other  problems  may  be  well  solved  by  such 


ACHIEVING  SUCCESSFUL  DISTRIBUTION      77 

concerns,  but  in  the  development  and  maintenance  of  a 
broad  net  of  distributors  pushing  their  goods  they  frankly 
confess  a  large  or  small  measure  of  defeat.  They  admit  the 
problem  is  to  some  extent  beyond  their  powers.  Their  dis- 
tribution organization  is  exasperatingly  spotty — sales  are 
good  in  one  territory  this  year  and  poor  the  next ;  at  no 
one  time  is  there  anything  like  a  uniform  or  even  flow  of 
orders.  The  distribution  machine  creaks  and  spurts  spas- 
modically. It  needs  the  attention  of  expert  counsel  on 
distribution.  There  is  no  reason  why  any  good  article 
should  not  approach  the  ideal  of  an  automatic  demand — 
not  of  course  as  automatic  as  a  staple  product,  if  it  is  a 
specialty,  but  still  a  really  automatic  demand  which  has 
something  like  an  even  flow  because  it  is  stimulated  wisely 
and  correctly. 

50.  The  Seven  Elements  of  Successful  Distribution. — The 
specific  factors  in  successful  distribution  may  be  said  to  be 
about  as  follows: 

1.  A  maximum  number  of  live  selling  units  (retailers 
or  canvassers). 

2.  A  rigidly  uniform  and  fair  method  of  dealing. 

3.  A  smooth-running  channel  of  middlemen,  if  neces- 
sary (jobbers,  selling  agents,  commission  houses  or  local 
branches). 

4.  A  steady  "pull"  or  ''demand"  from  the  consumer, 
arising  from  advertising  direct  to  consumers. 

5.  A  steady  ''push"  toward  the  live  selling  units — to 
keep  them  supplied  with  enthusiasm,  new  ideas,  assistance 
and  conviction,  accomplished  through  salesmen,  trade  paper 
advertising,  house  organs,  letters,  etc. 

6.  A  system  or  campaign  plan  to  extend  the  reach  of 
the  distributive  organization,  in  the  shape  of  specially  de- 
signed advertising,  special  crews,  "missionaiy  salesmen," 
etc. 


TO  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

7.  An  efficient  routine  organization  to  handle  all  mat- 
ters without  friction  or  complaint  or  loss. 

The  nature  of  these  elements  readily  explain  why  there 
is  so  frequent  failure  to  attain  them.  They  are  very  com- 
plicated and  very  difficult  factors  to  master,  each  and  every 
one  of  them.  It  is  foolhardy  for  any  but  a  mind  trained 
to  handle  such  factors  to  expect  success.  They  show  on 
their  face  the  degree  of  generalship  and  organizing  ability 
required,  to  say  nothing  of  the  men,  money  and  other  re- 
sources necessary  to  success. 

51.  Distribution  as  a  Mechanism. — A  distributive  organ- 
ization has  many  of  the  same  peculiarities  as  a  machine.  It 
needs  much  oil  and  a  good  deal  of  expert  attention,  and  it 
is  composed  of  a  great  many  parts,  all  of  which  must  be 
perfectly  meshed  into  each  other  without  friction. 

Now,  a  machine  of  such  proportions  as  will  sell  an  arti- 
cle in  an  adequate  manner  is,  necessarily,  a  delicate  poised 
and  individually  adapted  machine.  It  must  practically  be 
hwilt  to  order. 

The  distribution  machine  which  is  most  perfect,  most 
profitable  and  smoothest  running,  is  naturally  the  machine 
that  sells  your  goods  most  automatically  (with  the  least 
cost,  time,  effort  or  parley).  An  ideal  distribution  ma- 
chine is  composed  of  many  selling  units.  In  the  case  of 
Ivory  Soap  about  250,000  or  300,000  stores  sell  the  goods 
That  is  a  very  huge  machine,  but  essentially  simple.  It  puts 
300,000  people  to  work,  and  if  each  one  works  only  the 
tiniest  bit,  it  rolls  up  a  big  volume  of  sales  automatically. 
The  law  of  averages  is  the  speedometer  to  such  a  machine. 

The  reason  for  a  distribution  machine  is  to  have  goods 
ready  for  the  consumer  in  his  own  locality,  to  render  local 
service,  to  display  goods  in  the  recognized  centers  of  buy- 
ing, to  unload  small  credit  risk,  to  save  time  and  cost,  and 
to  more  thoroughly  canvass  local  possibilities.  Whether 
selling  belting  or  machine  tools  or  breakfast  food,  we  are 


ACHIEVING  SUCCESSFUL  DISTRIBUTION       79 

all  aiming  at  a  machine  which  will  represent  us  to  prospects 
with  the  same  degree  of  aggressiveness  and  skill  as  we  our- 
selves would  if  we  were  operating  that  store  or  agency. 
That  ideal  of  a  distribution  machine  is  very  rarely  achieved, 
but  is  the  goal  to  aim  for. 

52.  "High  Spot  Selling"  versus  Concentration  and  Intensi- 
fied Work. — "Hitting  the  high  spots"  is  a  phrase  and  often 
a  reproach — as  indicating  shallow  planning  and  insecure 
sales  building. 

The  subject  is  much  more  complicated  than  it  seems,  how- 
ever, and  how  to  adjust  the  particular  proposition  to  the 
method  is  not  a  simple  task. 

As  a  method,  "high  spot"  selling  has  a  distinct  strate- 
gic value. 

For  even  the  most  thorough  salesmanager  would  prob- 
ably (in  the  grocery  trade)  divide  the  United  States  into 
15  sections,  in  each  selecting  a  strong,  centrally  located 
jobber.  This  special  jobber  receives  each  month  a  bonus 
on  total  sales.  In  each  territory  he  places  one  of  his  own 
men  who  becomes  a  resident  salesman.  This  man  works  for 
the  jobber ;  his  salary  is  paid  by  the  manufacturer.  He  acts 
as  eyes  and  ears  for  the  home  office.  He  works  with  the 
jobber's  men  and  intensifies  the  interest  of  salesmen  and 
dealers  in  his  particular  line.     He  is  in  effect  a  high  spot. 

For,  having  picked  out  our  distributing  points  and  se- 
lected our  distributing  organization,  do  we  not  then  seek 
the  king  pin  retail  distributing  points  in  the  section? 
Those  leaders  in  business  who  are  quick  to  grasp  the  bigness 
of  our  advertising  and  selling  plan  want  to  catch  the 
crowds  who  will  be  reached  by  our  advertising  appeal  and 
their  public  endorsement  of  merchandise. 

In  the  city  of  Philadelphia  there  is  an  organization  in- 
cluding some  50  or  more  retail  grocers  with  about  100 
stores  who  bind  themselves  together  under  a  title,  "Co' 
operators. ' ' 


80  MODERN  SALESIMANAGEMENT 

These  men  come  together  weekly  and  give  each  other 
ideas  which  may  be  of  help  in  running  their  retail  stores- 
They  come  together  to  consider  selling  problems.  They 
come  together  to  consider  new  ventures  in  merchandising. 
They  are  non-competitive  merchants  and  for  the  most  part 
the  very  best  in  their  particular  neighborhoods.  If  a  dis- 
tributor enters  Philadelphia  and  can  secure  the  cooperation 
of  these  50  or  more  grocers  through  their  personal  direct 
selling  effort  and  such  advertising  as  they  may  do  in  their 
retail  business,  we  would  surely  say  he  is  hitting  the  high 
spots. 

But  it  is  by  hitting  the  high  spots  of  trade,  like  New 
York  and  Chicago,  that  we  get  prestige  in  reaching  the 
smaller  cities  and  towns  who  follow  the  play  as  staged  in 
the  big  town.  We  realize  that  having  sold  the  Wana- 
maker's,  Macy's,  Lord  &  Taylor's,  Altman's,  Park  &  Til- 
ford's,  Acker-Merrill's,  Charles',  The  A.  &  P.'s,  we  make 
it  easier  to  sell  the  neighborhood  stores  and  the  small  shops 
that  run  close  to  the  Fifth  Avenues  and  42nd  Streets  of  re- 
tail trade.  The  retailer  who  has  the  support  of  the  king 
pin  retailers  in  Philadelphia  or  elsewhere,  is  keen  enough 
to  know  that  this  first  success  is  the  big  argument  which 
he  can  use  in  securing  the  trade  of  all  the  stores  that 
may  be  in  the  neighborhood  or  vicinity  of  the  one  leader 
who  is  pushing  a  particular  line  through  unusual  selling 
and  advertising  efforts  due  to  his  own  ingenuity  and  ac- 
tivity in  retailing.  When  one  can  take  to  the  neighbor- 
hood stores  evidence  showing  that  the  big  man  is  working 
to  take  the  trade  away  from  his  neighbors,  surely  the  neigh- 
borhood store  will  put  in  the  same  kind  of  merchandise, 
and  be  more  anxious  to  push  that  line,  in  order  to  keep  his 
trade  from  getting  the  habit  of  going  to  his  competitors' 
stores  for  goods.  This  is  particularly  true  when  the  mer- 
chandise is  backed  by  strong  advertising  on  the  part  of  the 


ACHIEVING  SUCCESSFUL  DISTRIBUTION      81 

manufacturer.  The  high-spot  plan  works  and  is  an  en- 
tirely logical  principle. 

Still,  after  agreeing  as  to  the  efSciency  of  hitting  high 
spots,  it  is  quite  right  to  say  that  salesmanagers  too  often 
merely  hit  the  high  spots  and  too  infrequently  work  in- 
tensively as  well. 

While  the  big  shoemakers  were  opening  branch  retail 
stores  and  selecting  only  big  cities,  it  used  to  be  said  that 
Douglas  men  covered  every  crossroad  pump  and  small 
town ;  and  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  it  may  have  been 
this  policy  to  the  simple  country  folk  and  small  town 
people  who  wore  Douglas  shoes  that  gave  the  impetus  to 
the  big  town  Douglas  stores  where  the  country  people  of 
yesterday  reside  to-day. 

The  decision  as  to  how  far,  if  at  all,  high  spot  selling 
is  wise  must  be  made  only  after  the  most  painstaking  con- 
sideration of  all  factors  involved. 

53.  "Percentage  of  Distribution." — When  all  the  possible 
retail  outlets  of  selling  are  counted  up,  and  divided  into 
the  number  of  actual  outlets  selling  the  goods,  we  get  what 
is  known  as  the  "percentage  of  distribution"  which  any 
given  product  enjoys.  Articles  of  universal  use,  sold 
through  jobbers  have  the  largest  number  of  retail  outlets, 
but  it  is  hard  to  check  up  the  distribution,  as  the  manufac- 
turer does  not  fully  know  where  his  goods  are  sold. 

An  80  or  85%  distribution  for  an  article  sold  through 
jobbers  to  the  grocery  trade  is  considered  a  pretty  fair 
distribution,  although  very  famous  articles  such  as  Ivory 
Soap  or  Baker's  chocolate  enjoy  an  even  higher  percentage. 

The  average  is  very  low — many  articles  have  scarcely 
20%  distribution  even  though  sold  and  advertised  nation- 
ally. It  is  a  very  practical  thing  to  do,  to  keep  clearly 
before  both  the  executives  and  the  salesmen  the  percentage 
of  distribution  attained,  so  that  a  full  realization  of  the 
goal  still  to  be  attained  may  be  understood.     Lack  of  dis- 


82  MODERN  SALESI^IANAGEMENT 

tribution  is  a  great  waster  of  valuable  energy  and  money 
and  good  will,  as  the  consumer  so  often  under  such  circum- 
stances finds  it  difficult  or  impossible  to  secure  the  article 
after  having  become  persuaded  to  buy  it.  Many  costly 
campaigns  of  national  advertising  have  been  undertaken 
before  distribution  had  reached  a  percentage  which  made 
broadcast  advertising  advisable  and   effective. 

Any  territory  with  less  than  20%  of  possible  distribution 
is  merely  "pegged"  and  not  covered  and  it  then  becomes 
a  question  of  broad  policy  as  to  whether  limited  territory 
is  to  be  developed  intensively  before  spreading  out  fur- 
ther or  whether  conditions  warrant  a  policy  of  wide-flung 
effort,  with  intensification  only  at  strategic  points. 

54.  How  Aggressive  Advertising  Builds  Distribution. — 
Educational  support  of  the  distribution  is  vitally  necessary. 
Like  any  machine  which  has  many  widely  scattered  parts, 
it  must  be  well  connected  with  the  source  of  its  power.  It 
takes  plenty  of  horsepower  to  make  such  a  huge  national 
machine  operate,  and  that  horsepower  is  composed  of  the 
educational  aggressive  advertising  effort  which  is  put  to 
work  behind  the  distributors.  Much  merchandise  will  be 
found  on  the  shelves  of  distributors  and  in  the  warehouses, 
which  is  practically  in  storage.  They  keep  it — that  is  all. 
To  criticize  distributors  on  the  ground  that  they  are  merely 
"cash  registers"  waiting  for  orders  to  be  punched  upon 
them  is  beside  the  mark.  As  a  matter  of  plain  fact,  such 
a  situation  is  absolutely  up  to  the  manufacturer. 

We  labor  under  a  bad  delusion  when  we  believe  that 
any  distributor  is  more  than  a  distributor.  It  is  impos- 
sible, beyond  a  very  limited  point,  to  make  a  special  sales- 
man out  of  any  distributor.  As  the  average  jobber  has  on 
his  lists  about  80,000  items,  he  cannot  possibly  "push" 
even  a  very  small  fraction  of  them.  It  is  absurd  and 
wrong  in  principle  to  depend  much  upon  any  distributor 
for   aggressive   work.      The   thing  to   do   is   to   make   a 


ACHIEVING  SUCCESSFUL  DISTRIBUTION      83 

high-grade  educational  sales  and  advertising  effort.  It  is 
up  to  the  manufacturer  of  an  article  to  create  the  demand 
for  his  article.  It  is  not  the  function  of  any  distributor 
to  create  the  demand.  He  is  not  organized  to  do  it.  He 
is  organized  to  supply  demand.  He  can  only  help  when 
the  manufacturer  is  pulling  the  heavier  part  of  the  load. 
It  is  true  that  ideal  jobbing  and  retailing  should  (and 
does  in  many  cases)  include  creative  as  well  as  distributive 
effort.  In  theory  and  principle  retailers  should  be  educa- 
tors and  developers.  To  make  a  distributor  attain  this, 
first  catch  your  distributor,  and  then  educate  him. 

Only  a  small  proportion  of  the  1,000,000  retailers  of  the 
country  are  mentally  and  otherwise  equipped  to  fulfill  such 
a  conception  of  creative  assistance. 

55.  Educational  Effort  on  Dealers  to  Increase  Distribution 
Efficiency. — ]\Iuch  sales  failure  occurs  simply  because  of  a 
complete  lack  of  team  work  in  understanding  the  nature 
of  a  distributing  machine.  One  leans  on  the  other,  and 
both  fall  down.  They  do  not  take  their  share  of  the  job 
and  do  it  well.  This  is  typically  illustrated  by  the  case 
of  the  owner  of  a  certain  new  disinfectant.  He  appointed 
a  salesmanager  who  was  well  satisfied  after  several  months 
because  he  had  gotten  distribution  among  24,000  stores. 
In  six  months'  time  he  was  worrying  as  to  what  he  was 
going  to  do  next.  His  goods  were  on  the  shelves  of  24,000 
distributors,  but  he  was  selling  so  little  that  he  was  ashamed 
to  tell  how  much.  On  the  other  hand,  the  dealers  were 
resentful  because  they  had  expected  a  big  demand  to  de- 
velop. This  is  a  typical  example  of  fatal  leaning  on  each 
other. 

The  dealer  must  first  of  all  be  educated  about  the  mer- 
chandise he  is  selling.  If  the  distributor  himself  does  not 
thoroughly  understand  the  merchandise  he  is  selling  (which 
is  not  the  rule),  then  his  clerks  don't.  The  ways  for  secur- 
ing such  education  are : 


84  MODERN  SALESIMANAGEMENT 

1.  Salesman 's  demonstrations. 

2.  Special  traveling  missionaries  or  companions  to  job- 
ber's salesmen. 

3.  Booklets  for  clerks. 

4.  Trade  paper  advertising. 

5.  Sales  correspondence  courses. 

These  educational  methods  are  well  tried  and  have  the 
highest  proved  efficiency  in  making  live  creative  units  out  of 
distributors. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

SELLING  DIRECT  AND  SELLING  THROUGH  JOBBERS 

56.  Why  Some  Firms  Prefer  to  Sell  Direct  to  Retailers. — 
There  is  no  merchandising  problem  more  intricate  and 
vital  than  the  one  dealing  with  the  question  of  the  manner 
in  which  the  contact  is  to  be  made  with  **the  trade"  (the 
retailer).  Desire  to  grow  rapidly  and  to  sell  aggressively 
has  forced  many  manufacturers  who  naturally  and  nor- 
mally would  sell  through  jobbers  to  sell  direct  to  the  re- 
tailer. There  is  a  decided  tendency  in  this  direction  among 
a  live  and  modern  group  of  those  who  wish  to  carry  their 
standards  and  policies  direct  through  to  the  retailer,  thus 
coming  in  closer  contact  with  the  ultimate  consumer.  At 
the  same  time  certain  types  of  articles  of  wide  universal- 
ity of  sale  cannot  well  do  without  the  jobber  and  have  de- 
veloped policies  of  successful  cooperation  with  them. 

Of  course,  if  the  article  is  technical  or  if  it  is  of  special 
nature,  it  is  often  sold  direct  to  consumers.  But  if  it  has 
a  wide  sales  possibility  through  the  ordinary  types  of  re- 
tailers, and  must  be  ordered  in  small  quantities  frequently, 
or  if  it  is  of  heavy  bulk,  middlemen  are  as  a  rule  necessary. 

"Whether  it  is  preferable  to  sell  goods  through  jobbers  or 
to  retailers  direct,  is  determined  by  the  question  as  to 
whether  the  maker  can  render  functions  of  a  jobber  just 
as  well  or  nearly,  as  well  as  a  jobber — that  is,  convenient 
availability  of  goods,  credit  facilities,  etc. 

With  many  concerns  the  deciding  consideration  for  sell- 
ing direct  is  ability  to  serve  the  goods  fresh  or  with  the  high 
standards  of  service  desired  to  maintain  to  consumers. 


S6  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

Among  the  manufacturers  who  have  found  it  advisable 
to  sell  direct  to  the  retailer  are  the  following  \vell-kno^vl^ 
and  aggressive  firms:  National  Biscuit  Co.,  II.  J.  Ileinz 
&  Co.,  Colgate  &  Co.,  Standard  Oil  Co.  Other  firms  have 
found  it  undesirable  to  eliminate  the  jobber.  Among  these 
are  such  well-known  firms  as  the  Kellogg  Toasted  Com 
Flake  Co.,  Remington  Arms-Union  Metallic  Cartridge  Co., 
etc. 

Still  others  find  it  wise  to  "straddle,"  selling  both  to  job- 
bers and  retailers  direct  under  certain  conditions. 
Among  these  are  Mellins'  Food  Co.,  International  Silver 
Co.,  Oneida  Community,  R.  H.  Ingersoll  &  Bro.,  Victor 
Talking  Machine  Co.,  etc. 

57.  Advantages  and  Disadvantages  of  Selling  to  Job- 
bers.— The  country  being  as  large  as  it  is,  it  is  a  manifest  ab- 
surdity for  grocery,  hardware,  dry  goods,  drug  and  other 
lines  of  merchandise  to  be  sold  directly  unless  it  is  possible, 
and  for  special  reasons  justifiable  to  employ  huge  capital 
in  a  distributive  organization  as  an  auxiliary  to  manufac- 
turing. Broadly  speaking,  it  is  bad  business  to  "mix 
functions" — that  is  for  a  manufacturer  to  be  also  a  job- 
ber. Yet,  broadly  speaking,  if  he  is  to  succeed  he  must 
master  his  distributive  difficulties,  no  matter  what  they 
involve. 

Naturally  and  normally  a  jobber  is  a  very  economical 
and  vital  part  in  selling,  for  these  reasons: 

a.  The  jobber  has  an  established  sales  organization  that 
closely  covers  his  territory  and  maintains  cordial  relations 
with  the  trade. 

b.  He  buys  in  large  quantities,  which  facilitates  the 
volume  of  business  done. 

c.  He  relieves  the  manufacturer  of  the  necessity  of 
traveling  a  large  sales  force,  handling  a  large  number  of 
accounts  with  their  credit  risks  and  the  labor  of  collec- 
tions. 


SELLING  DIRECT  AND  THROUGH  JOBBERS      87 

d.  He  has  superior  ''warehousing"  facilities;  that  is,  he 
carries  a  stock  of  goods  on  which  the  retailer  can  draw 
quickly  and  without  having  to  pay  disadvantageous  freight 
rates  (since  the  jobber  gets  his  goods  in  quantities  that 
will  permit  favorable  freight  rates). 

On  the  other  hand,  must  be  considered  the  possibility  of 
the  following  unfavorable  factors : 

a.  The  loss  of  contact  with  the  retail  outlets  of  the 
manufacturer. 

b.  The  jobber  may  at  any  time  switch  over  to  a  com- 
peting line,  which  leaves  the  manufacturer  without  a  mar- 
ket. 

c.  The  jobber's  principal  interest  is  in  profits  and  for 
this  reason  he  is  not  so  careful  of  the  reputation  of  the 
goods  as  the  manufacturer. 

d.  The  jobber  may  at  any  time  become  a  competitor 
with  the  manufacturer  whose  line  he  had  been  pushing  by 
having  his  (the  jobber's)  own  "private  brand"  made  up 
either  under  contract  or  in  a  factory  controlled  by  him. 

e.  The  jobber  has  so  many  lines  to  handle,  that  even 
if  he  is  disposed  to  do  so,  he  can  hardly  concentrate  his 
attention  upon  any  given  line. 

f.  The  jobber  feels  no  desire  to  adhere  to  any  business 
policy  laid  down  by  the  manufacturer. 

g.  Convenient  availability  of  goods  is  probably  the 
most  important  function  of  the  jobber  in  the  modem  sales 
organization,  particularly  in  the  West  and  South,  where 
distances  are  great,  with  resulting  favorable  freight  rates 
on  carload  lots  for  long  hauls. 

58.  Branch.  Warehouses  and  Other  Compromises  and 
"Straddles." — Some  firms  which  do  not  sell  through  jobbers 
find  it  advisable  to  maintain  branch  warehouses  in  jobbing 
centers,  so  that  the  trade  can  easily  obtain  their  goods.  For 
example,  the  National  Biscuit  Co.  has  320  local  branches, 
which  supply  also  the  surrounding  territory.     Devoe  & 


88  MODERN  SALESI^IANAGEMENT 

Reynolds  Co.  (paints)  have  11  branches  in  the  South,  which, 
is  their  principal  territory. 

Convenient  supply  depots  are  particularly  vital  with  per- 
ishable goods.  The  packing  firms  like  Swift  and  Armour 
maintain  warehouses  in  every  important  center  to  supply 
goods  that  must  be  refrigerated. 

However,  with  the  advent  of  the  parcel  post  and  lower 
express  rates  "convenient  availability"  has  acquired  a  new 
meaning  for  comparatively  light  or  small  goods  (hardware, 
notions,  jewelry).  This  new  condition  has  brought  about  a 
widespread  practice  of  the  partial  elimination  of  the  job- 
ber in  many  lines.  It  is  used  in  combination  with  syste- 
matic saleswork  through  the  mails  to  supplement  the  work 
of  the  sales  force ;  with  mail  order  sales  in  uncovered  ter- 
ritory as  a  means  of  inducing  dealers  to  stock  the  goods; 
and  with  the  use  of  local  jobbers  where  advisable. 

Such  a  mixed  policy  is  justified  by  geographical  condi- 
tions. Distances  in  this  country  are  large,  and  over  50% 
of  the  consumer  population  is  scattered  in  the  rural  dis- 
tricts, doing  their  trading  in  small  towns  of  1,000  popula- 
tion or  under.  According  to  the  last  United  States  census 
there  were  over  60,000  such  towns,  each  with  a  few  deal- 
ers in  each  line  or  a  ' '  general,  store ' '  carrying  practically 
everything  bought  in  the  community. 

Yet,  in  many  lines  of  goods,  the  total  purchases  of  each 
"country  store"  would  be  too  small  to  warrant  the  call 
of  the  manufacturer's  salesman.  Therefore,  unless  the 
manufacturer  "covers"  them  by  mail  these  customers 
are  the  logical  trade  of  the  jobber.  This  explains  why 
the  Gillette  Safety  Razor  is  sold  partly  through  the  job- 
ber and  partly  direct  to  the  retailer ;  and  why  many  other 
firms  pursue  a  "straddle  policy." 

59.  Getting  "Sales  Punch"  to  Retailer  Through  Jobbers. — 
Cooperation  in  the  way  of  advertising,  advertising  helps 


SELLING  DIRECT  AND  THROUGH  JOBBERS      89 

for  the  dealer,  etc.,  can  hardly  be  expected  from  the  job- 
ber of  his  own  accord. 

Therefore,  such  firms  as  Yale  &  Towne  Co.,  Remington 
Arms  Co.,  the  Shredded  Wheat  Co.  and  others  make  con- 
siderable effort  in  cooperating  with  retailers  direct  in  the 
way  of  advertising  assistance,  window  displays,  etc.  Some 
of  these  firms  maintain  a  traveling  force  that  visits  the 
retailers,  but  either  takes  no  order  or  else  refers  orders 
which  he  takes  to  a  jobber  to  fill. 

Some  firms  supply  the  retail  trade  through  the  jobber 
who  supplies,  with  the  order,  requisitions  for  advertising 
matter  which  the  manufacturer  furnishes  direct.  This 
method  has  been  found  less  expensive,  but  also  less  pro- 
ductive of  returns. 

Direct  sales  w^ork  upon  the  retail  trade,  even  when  goods 
are  handled  by  jobbers,  has  been  found  necessary  by 
manufacturers  who  enter  a  new  market.  In  fact,  jobbers 
are  not  eager  to  handle  the  goods,  unless  the  maker 
"creates  a  demand."  This  is  a  very  natural  attitude  of 
mind  for  the  jobber,  who  has  a  large  number  of  differ- 
ent kinds  of  merchandise  to  handle. 

One  method  of  cooperation  is  the  established  fixed  policy 
of  the  manufacturer  to  deal  only  with  jobbers,  or  only 
with  retailers  direct.  In  one  case,  he  will  make  the  job- 
bers "solid"  with  him,  in  the  other,  the  retailer. 

The  most  common  method  of  discriminating  between 
jobbers  and  retailers,  and  of  encouraging  or  discouraging 
the  handling  of  goods,  is  a  schedule  of  prices  that  will 
increase  or  limit  the  margin  of  profit  obtainable  on  the 
goods. 

60.  The  Jobber  and  "Mixed  Functions." — Business  policy 
with  regard  to  jobbers  has  been  greatly  complicated  by 
overlapping  of  dividing  lines  between  the  proper  func- 
tions of  the  manufacturer,  jobber  and  retailer. 

A  typical  illustration  of  this  condition  is  furnished  by 


90  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

Marshall  Field  &  Co.,  Chicago,  known  to  the  public  as 
one  of  the  largest  retailers.  Yet  it  does  a  larger  jobbing 
business  than  a  retail  business  and  in  recent  years  has 
erected  large  factories  and  started  to  manufacture  many 
lines  which  it  sells  at  both  wholesale  and  retail. 

Naturally  it  has  been  found  by  the  manufacturers  of 
competing  goods  that  this  policy  of  Marshall  Field  &  Co. 
interfered  materially  with  their  own  sales,  since  this  firm 
could  hardly  be  expected  to  push  rival  lines  in  preference 
to  its  own. 

If  a  jobber  also  runs  a  retail  store — as  many  of  them 
do,  particularly  in  the  hardware  field — naturally  the  lat- 
ter as  a  retailer  has  a  price  advantage  over  the  other 
retailers  who  in  many  cases  show  their  resentment  toward 
the  manufacturer  who  thus  discriminates  against  them, 
intentionally  or  unintentionally. 

Again,  the  manufacturer  who  gives  the  full  jobber's 
discount  to  a  jobber  who  also  manufactures  similar  goods 
under  his  own  "private  brand"  name,  is  practically  giv- 
ing a  price  advantage  to  a  competitor. 

The  subject  of  the  private  brand  is  a  very  sensitive  one, 
and  goes  to  the  heart  of  the  matter  of  "mixed  function." 
It  is  unfortunate  that  jobbers  were  ever  unwise  enough 
to  usurp  a  manufacturing  function,  as  it  has  made  rival 
antagonists  out  of  the  maker  and  distributor  whose  nor- 
mal business  it  should  be  to  cooperate  closely  without  con- 
flict of  interest.  The  mistake  has  greatly  weakened  the 
logical  strength  of  the  jobber  as  a  distribution  unit. 

If,  in  a  manufacturer's  dealings  with  jobbers  a  clear 
dividing  line  is  established  between  jobbers  and  re- 
tailers as  a  class,  there  is  the  discrimination  through 
freight  rates,  for  some  jobbers  cover  the  entire  country, 
others  only  limited  sections  of  it. 

If  a  clear  dividing  line  is  established  on  the  basis  of 
quantity  prices,  complications  are  apt  to  arise  from  the 


SELLING  DIRECT  AND  THROUGH  JOBBERS      91 

fact  that  some  large  retail  stores  or  chain  stores  and  buy- 
ing "syndicates"  purchase  larger  quantities  than  many 
jobbers. 

Thus  has  arisen  the  natural  policy  that  the  quantity 
bought  fixes  the  discount  whether  the  buyer  be  jobber  or 
consumer.    This  policy  is  fairly  widespread. 


CHAPTER  IX 

CREATING  DEMAND  AND  EDUCATING  CONSUMERS 

61.  Demand  as  a  State  of  lldind. — There  are  two  kinds  of 
things  to  sell:  (1)  What  people  unquestionably  want;  (2) 
What  they  are  somewhat  indifferent  to,  hut  you  believe 
they  need.  The  more  eager  people  are  to  buy  goods,  nat- 
urally the  easier  it  is  to  sell  them.  Some  industries  pride 
themselves  on  their  success,  whereas  they  have  simply 
grown  up  automatically  with  an  industry.  For  years  a 
greater  number  of  automobiles  were  desired  than  could 
be  manufactured — they  were  hought,  not  sold.  The  pub- 
lic was  in  a  buying  state  of  mind,  and  the  demand  was 
naturally  therefore  strong. 

Demand  is  the  thermometer  which  registers  and  meas- 
ures the  success  of  a  business.  A  good  article  without  an 
existing  demand  for  it,  with  nothing  but  anticipated  or- 
ders, is  merely  a  hope  of  success.  Regular  business  pat- 
ronage of  any  kind  constitutes  demand.  How  to  increase 
it,  make  it  more  permanent  and  more  profitable — these 
are  the  great  first  aims  of  advanced  salesmanagement. 

It  has  been  found  that  demand  for  a  particular  firm's 
goods  or  services  hinges  upon  either  one  or  both  of  these 
two  factors: 

1.  State  of  buyers'  minds. 

2,  Recognized  price  or  quality  advantage. 
Investigation  has   developed   the   consensus  of  opinion 

that  when  the  buyers  are  in  an  unusually  favorable  frame 
of  mind  they  make  a  demand  for  the  goods  and  are  will- 
ing to  pay  a  higher  price,  even  when  in  competition  with 

92 


CREATING  DEMAND  93 

superior  quality.  Likewise,  when  they  are  in  an  un- 
usually unfavorable  frame  of  mind  they  won't  have  it  at 
any  price  or  any  quality.  It  is  therefore  easy  to  see  why 
the  public  state  of  mind  is  of  absolutely  first  importance. 

This  state  of  mind  apparently  has  a  great  many  angles 
according  to  the  goods  or  service  for  which  demand  is 
desired.  To  endeavor  to  sell  high-wheeled  bicycles  to- 
day would  merely  provoke  laughter,  as  did  Ford's  effort 
to  sell  automobiles  fifteen  years  ago.  Large  portions  of 
Europe  will  not  adopt  telephones  or  buy  bath  tubs  or  den- 
tifrices. American  business  firms  only  35  years  ago 
sneered  stubbornly  at  typewriters. 

62.  The  Subtle  Work  of  Creating  a  State  of  Iilind  That 
Leads  to  Demand. — In  creating  a  demand  for  a  product  it 
has  been  found  necessary  to  use  the  same  subtle  advanced 
and  analytical  tactics  which  great  editors  and  politicians 
use  in  affecting  the  opinions  of  masses.  They  never  hurry 
or  bewilder  the  public  by  trying  to  secure  a  too-rapid 
march  forward.  Roosevelt,  who  was  perhaps  the  greatest 
example  of  ability  in  leading  masses  in  radical  forward 
steps,  says  that  it  takes  a  long  time  to  wake  up  the  Ameri- 
can public,  but  once  they  are  awakened  they  go  much  fur- 
ther than  you  ever  dreamed  of.  This  is  just  as  true  in 
creating  a  demand  for  an  article  which  necessitates  a 
phjange  of  habits — ^like  linen  collars,  ready-made  suits, 
safety  razors  and  fountain  pens. 

Roosevelt  never  lost  patience  with  the  public,  but  kept 
repeating  his  radical  ideas  over  and  over  again,  always  in- 
vesting some  new  dramatic  form  of  presentation,  anc( 
keeping  the  public  eye  fixed  intently  on  himself  while  pre- 
senting them.  Editor  Bok  of  the  Ladies'  Home  Journal 
finds  the  same  principle  true  in  leading  two  million  women 
forward.  Years  ago  he  started  to  lead  women  away  from 
patent  medicines  and  to  instil  modern  ideas  of  child  hy- 
giene, etc.     The  first  few  efforts  invariably  made  no  im- 


94  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

pression,  but  undiscouraged  he  kept  up  the  crusades  in 
new  forms,  until  demand  was  created. 

This  is  the  formula,  in  principle,  for  all  effort  to  create 
demand  among  the  public  for  new  goods.  To  create  de- 
mand for  staple  goods,  like  sugar  or  flour,  the  process 
differs  only  in  that  you  must  create  demand  for  a  brand 
instead  of  for  the  article  itself.  No  one  need  feel  dis- 
couraged over  any  work  of  changing  of  habits  of  people 
or  developing  a  demand  which  has  a  real  innate  appeal 
or  value.  It  is  simply  necessary  to  understand  the  slow 
processes  necessary  to  organize,  finance  and  manage  the 
campaign  accordingly. 

The  creating  of  a  radically  new  demand  is  now  defi- 
nitely possible,  as  has  been  proved  through  the  experience 
of  many  firms, 

6S.  Changing  the  Public's  Habits  and  Standards. — A  buy. 
ing  state  of  mind  is  a  great  sales  achievement  if  you  an- 
ticipate it  early,  or  if  you  can  develop  it  without  too  great 
cost  and  effort.  Many  firms  resort  to  ' '  publicity ' '  through 
press  agents  and  lectures,  etc.,  to  develop  this  valuable  but 
slow-moving  condition.  But  it  does  not  easily  respond. 
It  is  a  psychological  condition  and  must  be  studied  indi- 
vidually in  relation  to  each  particular  case.  The  univer- 
sal desire  for  bath  tubs,  for  linen  collars,  for  sanitation  in 
the  home,  for  tooth  brushes  and  a  thousand  other  things 
have  been  brought  about  mainly  by  the  determined,  long- 
visioned  work  of  business  firms  through  sales  and  adver- 
tising methods. 

Some  very  striking  examples  are  constantly  occurring. 
For  example,  Switzerland  was  long  known  as  Europe's 
summer  playground.  For  six  months  of  the  year  hotels, 
railroads  and  other  tourists'  accommodations  were  over- 
taxed, but  during  winter  they  were  idle. 

Steam  radiators  and  other  comforts  were  installed  and 
a  systematic  campaign  was  started,  popularizing  and  ad- 


CREATING  DEMAND  95 

vertising  winter  sports  such  as  skating,  toboganning, 
skiing,  etc.  As  a  result  the  tourist  business  in  Switzer- 
land became  prosperous  the  year  round.  It  became  the 
fashion  in  England  and  France  and  Germany  to  winter 
in  Switzerland. 

Another  remarkable  illustration  is  found  in  the  safety 
razor  situation. 

When  you  look  at  the  portraits  of  men  taken  two  dec- 
ades ago,  you  will  notice  that  most  of  them  wore  beards. 
To-day  most  Americans  are  clean  shaven  and  the  beard 
is  now  decried  as  a  carrier  of  germs.  There  is  no  doubt 
whatever  that  safety  razor  advertising  has  been  largely 
responsible  for  this  change.  Razor  makers  were  unpros- 
perous  until  work  on  the  public  mind  was  systematically 
begun  and  brilliantly  developed. 

Creative  work  of  this  kind  is  changing  not  only  the 
buying  habits,  but  also  the  living  habits  of  people.  There 
are  now  many  advertisers  at  work,  following  the  lead  of 
Postum,  to  convert  coffee  drinkers  to  non-caffeine  bever- 
ages. 

Women's  clothes  and  fashion  habits  have  been  marve- 
lously  changed  through  shop  window  display  and  adver- 
tising. As  a  matter  of  fact  the  advertising  of  business 
houses  has  made  over  the  habits  of  the  whole  country,  so 
that  the  young  man  in  a  small  town  in  Kansas  wears  the 
same  up-to-date  clothes  as  the  New  York  youth,  and  at 
the  same  time.  This  is  accomplished  by  deftly  working  on 
the  subconscious  mind  of  the  public  by  persistent  and  con- 
sistent effort. 

64.  Demand  Creation  in  Relation  to  a  Mass  Movement. — 
Sometimes  it  is  possible  to  "hitch  on"  this  sort  of  popu- 
larization to  a  public  tendency  or  movement,  such  as  the 
"Fire  Prevention"  movement,  the  "Safety  First"  move- 
ment, the  "Pure  Food"  movement,  etc.  This  is  because 
there  are  always  various  tendencies  of  change  and  reform 


96  MODERN  SALESMANAGE]\IENT 

already  going  on  and  it  makes  the  work  easier  if  they  can 
be  harnessed  to  sales  work,  and,  of  course,  they  are  logic- 
ally a  part  of  public  movements,  and  public  policy  is 
served  thereby. 

When  no  such  public  tendency  exists,  it  can  ofttimes 
actually  be  created.  For  example,  a  firm  interested  in 
public  service  corporations,  increases  the  consumption  of 
electric  current  or  gas  in  the  cities  where  it  has  its  plants, 
by  creating  a  wave  of  civic  pride  and  patriotism,  as  a 
result  of  which  the  stores  light  up  more  brilliantly  at  night, 
and  electric  signs  are  used  more  extensively  by  local  mer- 
chants, also  by  the  city  authorities  by  illuminating  the 
civic  buildings,  by  the  Board  of  Trade,  etc. 

In  view  of  these  facts,  it  is  a  very  inaccurate  and  un- 
safe procedure  to  fake  the  present  Jwhiis  of  mind  of  the 
puhlic  as  final.  If  there  is  profit  in  changing  the  public's 
habits  and  state  of  mind,  it  is  a  quesst^.on  for  sales  and  ad- 
vertising experts  to  accomplish  such  a  change.  Any  one, 
retailer  or  manufacturer,  finding  himself  up  against  stag- 
nant, fixed  public  habits  needs  only  to  do  the  necessary- 
development  work  to  have  results  come  gradually.  It  is 
an  actual  fact  that  it  took  ten  years  of  hard,  uphill  work 
to  persuade  business  men  to  use  telephones,  typewriters, 
etc.  Now  it's  absurd  to  think  of  doing  without  them.  In 
a  similar  way  salesmanagement  enterprise  has  been  re- 
sponsible for  popularizing  many  other  public  benefits. 

If  possible,  it  is  highly  desirable  to  create  such  a  state 
of  "public  enthusiasm"  because  each  individual  of  the 
mass  becomes  a  radiating  center  of  influence  more  or  less 
in  favor  of  the  goods  in  question.  This  influence  is  all 
the  more  readily  transmitted  because  it  is  well  known  that 
the  crowd,  taking  it  as  a  whole,  does  not  think,  but  feel. 
Therefore,  a  master  hand  in  the  matter  may  work  great 
changes,  always  assuming  that  what  is  offered  contributes 
lasting  profit,  pleasure,  and  benefit. 


CREATING  DEMAND  97 

65.  The  Technical  Tools  of  Demand  Creation. — Some  of 
the  best  methods  of  creating  such  a  public  state  of  mind 
are  the  following: 

a.  Educational  advertising,  on  billboards,  newspapers, 
magazines,  street  cars,  etc. 

b.  Auxiliary  advertising  in  the  shape  of  buttons,  ban- 
ners, novelties,  of  all  kinds. 

c.  A  slogan — one  of  the  simplest  and  most  effective 
methods,  particularly  if  the  slogan  has  merit,  either 
through  rhyme,  rhythm  or  some  other  "catchy  element" 
that  gives  it  general  currency  in  the  public  mind;  for 
example,  "See  America  fir.st. " 

d.  Articles  in  newspapers,  magazines  etc. 

e.  Lectures,  demonstrations,  show  window  and  store 
exhibits  and  "expositions." 

f.  A  backing  of  authority — ^well-known  public  men,  or 
men  of  known  standing  in  a  particular  field  (Neighbor- 
hood store,  neighborhood  sentiment). 

g.  Discussion  before,  or  enlistment  of  organizations  in 
a  cause  that  has  a  bearing  on  the  goods  (for  example 
"Housewives'  Leagues"  on  food  problems,  "Boy  Scouts" 
on  walking  shoes,  etc.). 

In  conclusion,  it  is  the  opinion  of  the  best  advertising 
experts  that  no  habit  or  condition  of  the  consumer  is  hope- 
less against  the  use  of  intelligent  educational  effort.  It  is 
agreed  that  a  series  of  educational  efforts,  all  from  differ- 
ent angles,  will  gradually  affect  the  sub-conscious  mind 
of  people  and  bring  about  the  change,  if  such  change  is 
based  on  logic,  natural  evolution  or  sound  human  nature. 

66.  Names,  Trade  Mark  or  Slogan  That  Help  Create  De- 
sire.— Just  as  men  going  to  battle  stirred  up  interest  by 
cries  and  slogans,  so  to-day  slogans,  catchwords,  trade- 
mark names,  etc.,  play  a  part  in  making  it  simple  for  the 
average  mind  to  imbibe  a  new  idea.     These  slogans  and 


98  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

catchwords  are  of  less  value  than  a  good  name  or  good 
selling  phrase. 

Names  or  slogans  should  cover  the  following  points: 

a.  Should  preferably  convey  an  argument  for  buying 
the  article,  for  example,  "Sweetheart  (sweet  heart)  of 
the  Corn,"  "Minute  Tapioca."  In  many  well-chosen 
names  the  argument  is  "felt"  rather  than  directly  uttered. 
For  example,  "Nabisco  "Wafers"  suggest  a  dainty  food. 

b.  The  name  should  be  euphonious — easy  to  pronounce. 
This  point  is  frequently  overlooked  by  importers,  who  do 
not  change  the  foreign  name  of  an  article.  Investigation 
has  shown  that  the  average  consumer  does  not  want  to 
show  her  or  his  ignorance  of  a  foreign  language,  and  fear- 
ing to  appear  ridiculous,  will  prefer  to  ask  for  some  other 
product  the  name  of  which  is  readily  pronounced. 

e.  The  name  should  suggest  nothing  unattractive.  For 
example,  a  "deodorizing"  powder  proved  a  failure  be- 
cause it  was  named  "No  Smellee,"  a  name  which  no  self- 
respecting  person  felt  inclined  to  utter  in  a  drug  store. 

67.  Development  of  Tendencies  in  the  Buying  Public. — 
Some  marked  successes  have  been  won  by  firms  who  did 
not  put  any  stress  upon  their  article,  but  who  by  indirect 
suggestion  created  a  public  state  of  mind  that  produced 
a  need  for  their  article. 

The  "brighten  up"  campaign  of  a  large  paint  manu- 
facturer is  a  case  in  point.  He  generated  in  a  number 
of  cities  and  towns  a  greater  "civic  spirit"  that  induced 
citizens  to  put  a  new  coat  of  paint  on  the  building,  so  as 
to  improve  the  appearance  of  the  place.  Hygienic  move- 
ments have  frequently  created  a  demand  for  tooth  pow- 
der and  other  toilet  preparations  through  successfully 
utilizing  the  press  and  the  aid  of  the  health  authorities. 
Tire  chain  sellers  and  automobile  horn-makers  have  been 
persistent  in  their  educational  work  and  have  combined 


CREATING  DEMAND  99 

their  efforts  with  automobile  manufacturers  for  the  pur- 
pose of  familiarizing  the  public  with  their  product. 

It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that  a  salesmanager  know 
the  resistance  which  his  article  meets,  so  that  he  may 
study  the  situation  and  formulate  a  plan.  An  article  may 
have  a  limited  market  solely  due  to  a  set  notion  on  the 
part  of  the  public — a  habit  of  mind,  a  custom  or  a  prej- 
udice. By  removing  this  obstacle  sales  grow  very  much 
more  rapidly  and  cheaply.  Indirect  effort  to  develop  a 
new  spirit  or  line  of  thought  in  the  public  mind  is  entirely 
feasible  and  often  successful;  but  it  is  a  delicate  piece  of 
work,  each  cause  having  its  own  peculiarities  and  limita- 
tions. 

68.  Systematic  Educational  Campaigns. — Education  is  the 
most  powerful  lever  in  America,  and  most  American  peo- 
ple respond  to  it  readily.  They  have  no  prejudice  about 
trying  a  new  idea  or  method  or  article,  but  their  atten- 
tion is  hard  to  hold  long  enough  to  make  a  sufficiently 
deep  impression.  Therefore,  the  need  of  constant  reitera- 
tion and  advertising  and  sales  work  that  "teaches."  The 
tools  with  which  to  accomplish  this  result  are :  articles 
written;  house  organs,  booklets,  personal  demonstrations; 
constant  advertising  illustrations;  example;  recommenda- 
tion ;  use  by  others ;  reasoning ;  appealing  to  the  younger 
generation;  associating  pleasant  and  suggestive  ideas  with 
the  goods,  etc.  If  the  educational  work  to  be  done  is  ex- 
tensive it  is  wise  to  attempt  only  part  of  it  at  one  time. 

It  is  easier  to  lead  the  consuming  public  step  by  step 
than  to  attempt  to  force  a  radical  program.  Also,  it  is 
more  encouraging  to  investors  and  employees  to  watch 
the  acceptance  of  preliminary  or  partial  ideas  than  to  wit- 
ness repeated  rebuffs  of  the  entire  idea.  Thus  wise  type- 
writer companies  years  ago  made  progress  by  urging  the 
use  of  typewriters  for  routine  work,  and  did  not  attempt 
immediately   to   fight   vigorously   the   prejudices   against 


100  IMODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

typewritten  correspondence,  which  could  not  be  success- 
ful until  the  business  public  gradually  became  accustomed 
to  the  appearance  of  typewritten  work. 

A  man  who  sells  a  new  idea  has  to  educate  people  and 
overcome  their  timidity  at  paying  for  something  new. 
This  is  often  a  slow  and  intricate  process.  For  illustra- 
tion, in  selling,  one  official  of  a  firm  may  be  won  over, 
but  others  in  the  firm  may  consider  it  a  new  kind  of  ex- 
travagance. Then  the  education  must  be  carried  up  higher. 
Those  who  sell  some  new  type  of  building  construction 
for  factories  and  skyscrapers,  and  must  educate  the 
moneyed  men  who  are  difficult  to  reach,  have  the  hardest 
task  of  all,  and  experience  proves  that  educational  ad- 
vertising in  technical  and  general  magazines  and  news- 
papers can  alone  accomplish  the  educating.  Often  it  is 
advisable  to  use  general  advertising,  simply  to  reach  a 
veiy  small  and  limited  group  of  hard-to-reach  men. 

69.  Service  as  a  Means  to  Help  Educate. — Serious  mis- 
takes have  often  been  made  by  failing  to  realize  that  after 
educating  a  customer  to  buy,  the  effort  is  lost  if  expe- 
rience with  the  purchase  is  annoying  or  unfortunate. 
Many  new  mechanical  devices  have  failed  to  succeed  be- 
cause purchasers  could  not  successfully  operate  them  for 
every-day  business  requirements,  and  the  maker  offered 
no  service  to  help  the  purchaser  get  adjusted  and  edu- 
cated to  the  new  idea.  Many  articles  (such  as  a  dictating 
machine)  mean  the  break-up  of  lifelong  habits,  and  it  is 
a  very  serious  sales  consideration  to  render  the  educa- 
tional service  which  will  make  sure  that  the  article  is 
understood  and  appreciated  after  it  is  sold.  Such  service 
sometimes  needs  to  be  followed  up  a  year  or  more  after 
purchase. 

Live  makers  of  adding  machines,  cash  registers,  etc.,  find 
it  absolutely  necessary  to  maintain  a  very  extensive  service 
organization  and  to  give  a  service  guarantee.     They  even 


CREATING  DEMAND  101 

establish  schools  to  train  operators  as  part  of  the  edu- 
cational work  of  developing-  the  market.  Convenience 
in  ordering  supplies  and  parts  and  reduction  to  a  mini- 
mum of  mechanical  attention  required  is  vitally  neces- 
sary. The  automobile  did  not  become  popular  until  this 
had  been  accomplished. 

Dealers,  jobbers,  clerks  and  salesmen  need  education 
quite  as  much  as  consumers,  if  not  more  so.  It  is  a  first 
essential  that  the  house's  salesmen,  first,  be  "sold,"  then 
the  jobbers  and  retailers  and  their  salesmen.  To  do  this, 
educational  advertising  in  trade  papers,  in  house  organs, 
by  letters,  correspondence  courses  in  selling,  demonstra- 
tion lectures,  trips  to  factory,  booklets,  etc.,  are  essential. 

The  creation  of  demand  is  a  very  large  and  difficult 
task  and  often  slow  and  discouraging  in  results ;  but  energy 
and  brains  and  study  are  invariably  successful  when  ap- 
plied to  propositions  of  real  merit,  and  the  educational 
method  is  aggressively  used. 


CHAPTER  X 

MEETING  COMPETITION 

70.  House  Policy  as  a  Competition  Safe^ard. — Prac- 
tically every  business  has  competition  to  meet.  The  pub- 
lic does  not  like  a  monopoly,  neither  does  the  trade. 
Within  the  past  ten  or  fifteen  years,  the  sentiment  about 
competition  has  undergone  a  decided  change.  Formerly 
competitors  regarded  one  another  as  bitter  enemies.  There 
was  considerable  personal  feeling  between  them.  Now 
most  wide-awake  business  firms  belong  to  associations  prac- 
tically composed  of  competitors,  and  cooperate  with  each 
other,  recognizing  that  competitors  are  necessary  to  help 
keep  demand  in  a  healthy  state. 

Nevertheless,  in  order  to  make  a  sale  and  hold  a  cus- 
tomer, it  is  necessary  to  convince  him  that  your  goods  and 
your  proposition  are  more  advantageous  to  him  than  any 
offers  of  competitors. 

It  is  now  generally  conceded  that  the  fundamental 
methods  of  competition  should  not  be  left  to  the  indi- 
vidual judgment  of  salesmen  for  them  to  apply  in  indi- 
vidual cases,  but  the  policy  should  be  determined  by  the 
management,  worked  out  along  definite  lines  and  adopted 
as  a  standard. 

This  is  particularly  vital  when  there  is  little  or  no  ap- 
parent superior  merit  in  the  goods  offered.  Under  such 
circumstances  an  advantage  may  be  created  through  a 
sales  policy  which  is  different  from  that  of  competitors; 
for  example,  by  offering  more  favorable  credit  terms,  by 

102 


MEETING  COMPETITION  103 

emphasizing  better  shipping  facilities,  closer  cooperation 
to  help  customers  resell  the  goods,  etc. 

For  example,  a  manufacturer  whose  goods  are  in  pop- 
ular demand,  holds  his  old  customers  by  strict  adherence 
to  the  policy  of  giving  their  rush  orders  preference. 

For  instance.  The  Sunshine  Biscuit  Company,  in  com- 
peting with  the  National  Biscuit  Company,  displayed  com- 
petitive sagacity  in  not  attempting  to  parallel  the  won- 
derful success  of  Uneeda  Biscuit. 

Instead  of  making  a  frontal  attack  upon  this  popular 
line,  the  Sunshine  Company  adopted  the  sales  policy  of 
centering  its  efforts  upon  very  high-grade  fancy  biscuit, 
marketed  in  quarter-pound  boxes.  Through  an  aggressive 
campaign  these  goods  were  quickly  introduced  in  grocery 
stores  and  thus  were  an  entering  wedge  for  the  entire 
"Sunshine"  line,  including  the  5c  crackers.  Imitation 
is  never  a  winning  method  of  meeting  competition — unless 
it  can  be  done  overwhelmingly  better  than  the  competitor, 
as  Hood's  Sarsaparilla  did  some  years  ago.  The  competi- 
tor's sales  method  was  taken  and  handled  so  much  better 
that  Hood's  got  credit  for  it. 

As  a  rule,  the  service  and  accommodation  which  a  firm 
renders  customers  are  the  most  reliable  safeguards  against 
competition.  When  there  is  an  opportunity  of  going  to 
extra  trouble  to  "help  a  customer  out" — especially  in 
cases  where  a  competitor  has  failed — it  has  been  found 
that  a  customer  thus  won  is  permanent  as  long  as  the 
house  continues  this  policy.  For  this  reason  some  firms 
have  no  hesitation  in  satisfying  them  even  at  an  oeca- 
sional  loss  to  themselves  rather  than  have  customers  turn 
toward  competitors.  The  free  and  easy  return  of  goods 
by  customers  is  often  decried  as  an  evil ;  but  it  is  a  fact 
that  a  policy  of  making  return  hard  does  not  pay. 

71.  Territorial  Readiness  to  Meet  Competition. — Terri- 
torial consideration   and  location   form  another  effective 


104  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

weapon  against  competition.  Customers  prefer  to  deal  with 
firms  conveniently  located.  There  is  a  natural  prejudice 
against  firms  "a  long  way  off." 

As  a  result,  many  manufacturers  who  cater  to  a  na- 
tion-wide demand,  find  it  advisable  to  establish  branch 
offices  or  warehouses  in  various  sections  of  the  country. 
This  makes  it  easier  to  supervise  and  cover  the  territory 
more  thoroughly  than  is  possible  for  the  competitor.  Some- 
times it  also  affords  an  opportunity  to  work  territory  in 
which  the  competitor  is  weak. 

This  is  one  of  the  most  effective  ways  of  overcoming 
competition — to  quickly  entrench  wherever  competition  is 
Qveak,  and  then  after  thus  establishing  a  firm  foothold  with 
the  trade,  go  after  the  competitor  where  he  is  stromg. 

This  principle  offers  a  great  encouragement  to  the  en- 
terprising young  business  man,  because  there  is  no  firm,  no 
matter  how  large,  that  is  uniformly  strong  in  every  part 
of  the  country. 

In  retailing,  where  success  depends  basically  on  loca- 
tion, the  strategic  advantage  of  it  sometimes  breaks  or 
makes  a  store. 

72.  Price  as  a  Competitive  Factor. — By  those  who  have 
not  studied  the  question  thoroughly,  the  weapon  for  fight- 
ing competition  most  effectively  is  generally  considered  to 
be  a  lower  price.  But  this  is  agreed  by  successful  busi- 
ness men  to  be  an  extremely  fallacious  and  unreliable 
expedient,  for  three  reasons:  (1)  it  fatally  diminishes 
the  profit;  (2)  it  tempts  the  competitor  to  go  still  lower 
with  his  price;  (3)  it  creates  no  permanent  trade;  be- 
cause the  man  whose  order  is  won  simply  on  the  basis  of 
the  lower  price,  can  be  won  away  readily  by  the  competi- 
tor's  offer  of  a  still  greater  reduction.  Sometimes  the 
price  advantage  is  based  upon  freight  advantages;  in 
which  ease  it  is  necessary  to  scientifically  analyze  freights 


MEETING  COMPETITION  105 

—possibly  even  to  readjust  the  manufacturing  or  ware- 
housing locations. 

Ruinous  price  competition  which  is  so  often  encountered 
spells  chiefly  ignorance.  Many  firms  do  not  know  the  ex- 
act cost  of  their  goods. 

A  notable  instance  of  this  kind  and  of  an  enlightened 
way  of  overcoming  this  sort  of  competition,  is  found  in 
the  printing  trade,  which  is  filled  with  firms  doing  part 
of  their  business  at  an  actual  loss.  It  has  long  been  a 
well-known  fact  that  printers  do  not  know  their  costs. 
The  Franklin  Societies,  a  federation  of  printing  clubs, 
therefore,  establishes  cost  congresses  for  the  benefit  of 
their  members,  and  introduced  a  system  of  maintaining 
traveling  cost  accountants  who  install  cost  systems  in  the 
office  of  any  printer  who  wants  them,  on  the  assumption 
that  when  he  knows  his  costs  he  will  not  underbid  his 
competitors  disastrously. 

Salesmen  are  very  prone  to  want  to  make  price  con- 
cessions, as  they  are  more  interested  in  making  a  sale 
than  making  a  profit.  They  should  be  carefully  drilled 
on  the  subject. 

73.  Wilful,  Reckless  Price  Competition. — This  is  an  old 
evil  still  much  met  with.  It  is  generally  called  a  "trade 
war,"  when  profits  are  sacrificed  in  an  endeavor  to  take 
business  awa}^  from  competitors.  This  makes  for  demoral- 
izing the  market,  and  has  always  tended  to  upset  public 
faith  in  standard  qualities  and  good-will.  This  does  not 
affect  the  value  of  lower  price  when  that  lower  price  is 
based  on  greater  efficiency  and  management.  It  affects 
only  such  price  competition  which  is  inadequately  based 
on  costs  and  margins.  The  scheme  of  "dumping"  the  sell- 
ing of  goods  at  or  below  cost  in  competitive  markets  is  an 
extreme  policy  of  strategy  which  can  only  be  justified  by 
the  results  in  any  given  case.  In  principle  it  is  unsound 
and  inequable. 


106  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

It  has  been  found  that  it  is  not  necessary  to  make  reck- 
less price  reductions,  for  they  can  be  overcome  by  the 
merit  of  the  goods,  or  by  the  house  policy,  or  by  re-exam- 
ining management  efficiency. 

Usually  the  very  best  method  of  meeting  the  lower  price 
of  inferior  articles  is  to  use  the  higher  price  of  your  goods 
as  a  sales  argument.  The  head  of  a  large  specialty  firm 
was  told  by  a  dealer :  "  If  we  could  sell  specialty  goods  for 
20c  less,  I  feel  sure  we  could  sell  more  of  them."  The 
manufacturer,  knowing  the  pulse  of  the  market,  replied: 
"If  it  were  not  for  the  20c  more,  you  could  not  sell  our 
goods  at  all." 

74.  Secret  Price  Concessions. — This  is  the  hardest  com- 
petition to  overcome,  because  the  competitor  is  working 
more  or  less  in  the  dark,  and  the  customers  benefited  by 
it  are  seldom  willing  to  divulge  the  information.  It  can 
be  brought  to  light  either  through  tactful  salesmen,  or 
through  outside  investigators.  The  public  attitude  on  this 
point  is  indicated  by  the  federal  laws  against  secret  re- 
bates; and  the  decisive  action  now  taken  by  the  Federal 
Trade  Board  against  all  forms  of  commercial  bribery. 

75.  Meeting  the  Competitor's  Selling  Arguments. — The 
old  school  of  salesmanship  believed  in  showing  the  defects 
of  competitive  goods.  But  this  policy  has  been  found  un- 
desirable, because  people  do  not  like  "knockers." 

This  does  not  mean  that  the  selling  points  of  competi- 
tive goods  should  be  ignored.  But  the  selling  talk  should 
be  so  engineered  that  the  strong  point  of  your  own  prop- 
osition is  brought  out  in  the  mind  of  the  prospect  above 
the  good  points  of  your  competitor's  proposition. 

Skilled  salesmen  do  this  without  mentioning  the  name 
of  the  competitive  firms  or  materials,  unless  the  prospect 
specifically  asks  about  them.  In  such  cases  the  salesman 
can  make  great  headway  if  he  speaks  well  of  his  competi- 
tor.   This  is  an  evidence  that  he  is  fair-minded.    The  most 


MEETING  COMPETITION  107 

successful  method  has  been  to  allow  that  the  competitor's 
proposition  is  good,  but  prove  that  your  own  proposition 
is  better. 

Sometimes  it  is  possible  to  use  the  talking  point  of  the 
competitor  as  a  starting  point  on  which  to  build  up  a  su- 
perior argument.  For  example,  a  certain  automobile  com- 
pany emphasized  the  resiliency  of  their  springs.  The 
salesmen  of  a  competitor  showed  that  springs  which  are 
too  resilient  are  really  a  mistake  and  that  stiffer  springs 
with  deeper  upholstery  assure  a  more  comfortable  ride. 

The  salesmen  or  house  with  a  strong  individuality  or 
personality  will  be  able  to  overcome  competition  even  if 
handicapped  by  less  favorable  selling  points.  The  element 
of  business  friendship  and  good-will  can  swing  an  order 
in  the  face  of  otherwise  adverse  conditions. 

The  element  of  competition  is  not  as  harmful  as  gen- 
erally appears  at  first  glance.  In  new  lines  or  new  fields 
where  one  manufacturer  alone  is  hardly  powerful  enough 
to  create  public  sentiment  or  trade  sentiment  in  favor  of 
a  certain  line  of  goods,  competition  is  distinctly  helpful ; 
it  assists  in  the  educational  work.  The  first  player  piano 
company  found  the  introduction  of  its  machine  very  up- 
hill work  until  other  companies  entered  the  field. 

To  imitate  or  parallel  competitors  is  to  acknowledge  their 
leadership.  The  better  plan  is  to  strike  out  in  a  different 
direction.  A  still  better  plan  is  to  assume  the  leadership 
right  from  the  start,  and  to  anticipate  competitors  in 
every  direction  as  much  as  possible. 

Above  all,  the  pZafn  fear  of  competition  is  deadly.  Com- 
petitors are  much  more  feared  than  facts  warrant.  Com- 
petition is  undesirable  only  where  sales  are  absolutely  and 
hopelessly  limited  to  a  certain  quantity.  This,  however, 
is  seldom  the  case. 

76,  Competition  for  Prestige.— One  of  the  most  difficult 
of  all  business  tasks,  demanding  advanced  analysis,  was 


108  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

found  in  one  investigation  to  be  that  of  guiding  a  fairl;^ 
successful  business  over  the  rocks  of  fierce  competition, 
adverse  conditions  and  sudden  stress  of  various  kinds. 
The  one  "equilibrator"  for  all  such  ups  and  downs  is 
widely  acknowledged  to  be  prestige.  Failure  to  develop 
or  maintain  this  has  wrecked  many  worthy  firms. 

There  were  found  numerous  firms  whose  goods  were 
equally  as  good  as  those  of  competitors,  but  who  could 
not  command  the  same  price  for  them.  The  cause  was 
largely  lack  of  prestige.  Prestige  is  the  sum  total  of  pop- 
ular impression  about  the  desirable  character  of  a  firm, 
its  goods,  and  business  methods.  It  represents  the  faith 
of  the  buying  public  in  the  quality  of  the  goods  and  the 
service  and  policy  of  the  house — faith  in  the  establishment 
and  maintenance  of  its  standards. 

It  will  be  seen  from  this  definition  that  any  firm  of 
inherent  merit,  no  matter  whether  large  or  small,  can 
create  and  maintain  prestige,  with  proper  resourcefulness, 
even  in  the  face  of  powerful  competition  or  adverse  con- 
ditions. 

In  the  past  it  has  generally  been  considered  that  pres- 
tige is  a  matter  of  slow  growth  and  therefore  only  avail- 
able to  firms  long  established. 

But  modern  merchandising  methods  now  prove  this  to 
be  a  fallacy,  as  prestige  is  now  developed  by  aggressive 
methods.  Time  may  actually  be  annihilated.  For  ex- 
ample, among  retailers,  the  United  Cigar  Stores;  among 
manufacturers,  the  makers  of  Indestructo  Trunks.  Cer- 
tain makers  of  automobiles  have  demonstrated  the  success 
of  quickly  developed  prestige. 

It  has  been  found  that  the  cultivation  of  prestige  can 
be  so  engineered  as  to  impress  the  public  at  every  point 
of  contact  with  the  business. 

77.  Advertising  as  a  Competitive  Tool  for  Prestige. — No 
matter  how  small  may  be  the  appropriation  available,  th© 


MEETING  COMPETITION  109 

proper  c(mcentraUon  of  advertising  and  the  patient  per- 
sistence at  it  will  develop  that  state  of  mind  among  con- 
sumers which  is  favorable  to  prestige.  If  the  advertising 
squares  up  with  purchasing  experience  it  becomes  prestige 
itself,  and  later  the  name  alone  becomes  filled  with  strong 
prestige  meaning.  Advertising  then  may  become  less  ex- 
pensive than  under  any  other  condition,  and  when  com- 
petition and  stress  come,  prestige  can  be  many  times  more 
easily  maintained.  It  has  frequently  been  said  that  $3,- 
000,000  worth  of  advertising  for  a  soap  could  not  make  a 
dent  in  the  prestige  of  Ivory  Soap.  From  this  it  will  be 
seen  how  advertising  in  time  builds  an  almost  impregnable 
fortress  of  prestige. 

It  has  been  the  history  of  most  successful  firms  that 
have  rapidly  progressed  that  they  started  in  with  very 
modest  but  persistent  advertising  appropriations,  which 
grew  with  the  business.  It  is  said  of  John  Wanamaker 
and  Cyrus  Curtis  (of  the  Curtis  Publishing  Company), 
that  they  got  their  start  by  spending  almost  their  last 
dollar  for  advertising. 

78.  Organization  as  Competitive  Protection. — It  will 
usually  be  found  that  small  competitors,  discovering 
wherein  the  organization  of  large  competitors  are  weak, 
have  deliberately  strengthened  their  own  organizations, 
particularly  along  these  weak  points,  and  have  little  diffi- 
culty in  maintaining  their  position. 

The  term  "organization"  as  used  here  applies  to  the 
entire  distributing  organization,  including  dealers  and  job- 
bers. There  is  a  tendency  on  the  part  of  large  firms  to 
be  more  or  less  autocratic  with  the  trade.  This  offers  the 
very  opportunity  for  smaller  competitors  to  enlist  more 
successfully  the  good-will  of  the  trade,  and  its  coopera- 
tion. 

It  was  largely  due  to  this  principle  that  the  Hot  Point 
Electric  Company,  an  obscure  little  manufacturing  busi- 


110  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

ness  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  was  successful  in  establishing  a 
large  demand  for  its  electric  household  goods  in  competi- 
tion with  the  giant  electric  corporations  of  the  country. 

There  are  many  other  examples  where  a  small  but  highly 
efficient  organization  has  routed  a  larger  one.  Sometimes 
a  firm's  prestige  is  really  built  upon  simply  the  public 
general  feeling  that  its  organization  is  superior.  After 
all,  since  what  most  purchasers  buy  is  the  prestige  or  serv- 
ice which  goes  with  an  article  itself,  it  is  natural  that  the 
organization  behind  the  article  should  be  given  the  chief 
credit. 

Prestige  cannot  be  maintained  against  the  entire  current 
of  public  opinion  and  unstemmable  drift  of  tendencies. 
The  only  way  left  to  maintain  prestige  under  such  cir- 
cumstances is  to  change  with  the  times;  to  key  up  an  or- 
ganization to  meet  and  conquer  a  situation;  to  train  it  to 
render  the  consumer  a  degree  of  service  not  enjoj^ed  be- 
fore and  set  standards  which  are  ahead  rather  than  be- 
hind the  times. 

Inasmuch  as  prestige  hinges  upon  such  things  as  leader- 
ship, favorable  public  impression,  service,  organization 
should  direct  itself  to  everything  that  can  have  a  bearing 
upon  making  a  friend  and  giving  people  an  excuse  to  talk 
about  you.  Alert  business  men  are  keen  to  seize  an  op- 
portunity to  place  a  possible  customer  under  an  obliga- 
tion; to  appear  a  little  different  from  other  houses  in  a 
favorable  way  (even  in  small  matters)  ;  and  to  make  it  a 
point  not  to  let  one  customer  remain  unsatisfied. 

Prestige  is  a  form  of  business  momentum,  fostered  by  a 
live  and  highly-trained  organization,  and  has  carried  along 
many  a  house  which  fortunately  possessed  it  over  a  period 
during  which  firms  without  prestige  would  have  failed.  It 
is  the  intangible  goal  toward  the  achievement  of  which  all 
modern  live  business  men  give  their  most  careful  advanced 
thought. 


CHAPTER  XI 

SPLITTING  UP  SALES  TERRITORY  AND  SETTING  QUOTAS 

79.  The  Logic  of  Carefully  Split  Territory. — Good  shoot- 
ing requires  clearly  marked  targets.  And  alert  sales  cam- 
paigning likewise  requires  the  object  of  attack,  the  terri- 
tory to  be  not  only  clearly  marked  off,  but  analyzed, 
compared  and  ticketed  with  a  ratio  of  logical  expectation, 
in  keeping  with  the  particular  kind,  size  and  condition 
of  such  territory. 

Small  wonder,  then,  that  the  matter  of  territory  is  con- 
stantly bothering  salesmanagers.  Some  salesmanagers  have 
an  old-fashioned  inclination  to  dismiss  the  matter  rather 
lightly  with  the  old  saw,  "It's  always  the  man  and  not 
the  territory." 

But  we  have  gone  a  long  waj^  in  salesmanagement  from 
the  easy-going  notion  that  selling  is  little  else  but  a  mat- 
ter of  a  wizard  salesman,  and  that  the  thing  to  do  is  to 
key  up  all  salesmen  to  be  wizards  at  selling.  We  are 
ready  to  put  the  territory  under  the  microscope  and  learn 
not  only  how  to  make  that  territory  produce  more,  but 
how  to  do  more  level  justice  to  salesmen,  whose  record 
usually  varies  in  different  territories  quite  as  much  because 
of  territory  reasons  as  because  of  difference  in  sales  ability. 

The  purposes  of  scientifically  districting  sales  territory 
are: 

a.  To  cover  it  in  an  organized  way. 

b.  To  make  exact  comparisons  with  other  territories. 

c.  To  equalize,  as  far  as  possible,  the  opportunities  and 
compensations  of  the  salesmen, 

d.  To  meet  competition  most  effectively. 

Ill 


112 


MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 


Common  fatal  errors  are  (1)  assigning  a  salesman  too 
much  territory;  (2)  having  salesmen  criss-crossing  each 
other's  territory  because  of  "personal"  customers;  (3) 
working  territory  spasmodically  and  spottily. 

80.  Best  Lines  on  Which  to  Split  Territory.— The  old- 
fashioned  way  of  dividing  sales  territory  was  roughly  by 
states.  Progressive  firms  have  found  this  to  be  unsatis- 
factory because,  as  a  rule,  a  state  is  a  section  of  a  country, 
formed  years  ago  on  an  arbitrary  basis  which  has  no  bear- 
ing whatever  on  the  sales  situation. 


BTANDAB.D  SALES  DISTRICTS  COVERING  THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  NINB 
LOGICAL  SALES  DISTEICTS 


It  is  conceded  by  the  firms  which  have  tried  it,  that  a 
county  forms  a  much  more  satisfactory  territorial  unit, 
because,  by  means  of  its  boundaries,  territories  can  be  laid 
out  to  fit  conditions.  At  the  same  time  it  is  the  smallest 
section  of  the  country  for  which  census  figures  are  readily 
available.  The  same  principle  holds  true  of  any  smaller 
sales  field,  even  if  the  units  used  be  townships.  A  small 
unit  is  best. 

Even  though  there  are  decidedly  different  types  of  sales 


SPLITTING  UP  SALES  TERRITORY         113 

organization  and  plans  of  selling,  the  unit  of  territory, 
whether  it  needs  to  be  small  or  large,  may  still  quite  logi- 
cally divide  on  county  lines. 

81.  How  Much  Territory  Can  a  Salesman  Cover? — Terri- 
tory is  of  no  value  unless  it  is  worked  actively.  A  sales- 
man can  average  in  cities  from  6  to  14  calls  per  day  (al- 
though in  the  grocery  trade,  well  organized  work  of  a 
routine  nature  may  make  possible  an  average  of  40  or  50 
calls  in  the  large  cities).  In  towns  of  less  than  25,000 
population,  the  general  average  (east  of  the  Mississippi) 
is  3  to  5  calls  per  day  throughout  the  year.  The  traveling 
conditions  West  of  the  Mississippi  are  of  such  a  character 
that  it  is  impossible  to  gather  authentic  figures,  applying 
equally  to  all  sections.  These  facts  are  essential  to  know 
in  avoiding  giving  a  salesman  too  much  to  do,  which  ends 
in  his  neglecting  part  of  the  trade. 

The  only  proper  basis  for  dividing  territory  into  sales 
districts  is  transportaiion  facilities;  that  is,  railway  lines 
must  be  followed.  Everything  must  hinge  on  this  consid- 
eration ;  but,  of  course,  population  or  number  of  prospects 
is  the  immediate  next  deciding  factor.  These  two  consid- 
erations may  result  in  the  marking  off  of  what  looks  like 
a  large  and  irregular  shaped  territory,  but  it  may  have 
just  the  right  number  of  prospects  and  the  be^t  traveling 
connections  for  efficiency. 

Herewith  is  shown  a  standard  sales  district  map,  as  de- 
veloped by  careful  study.  It  fits  almost  any  national 
concern  which  does  not  have  a  large  number  of  prospects 
to  call  upon  in  a  territory,  or  which  operates  on  a  branch 
basis. 

To  intelligently  prepare  a  sales  district  split,  there  will 
be  needed,  in  addition  to  railway  maps  and  data,  consumer 
or  dealer  information,  and  the  number  and  location  of 
customers  or  prospects.  The  more  customers  there  are  in 
a  given  territory,  the  smaller  should  be  the  area  of  terri- 


lU  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

tory  per  salesman,  so  that  the  trade  can  be  covered  effect- 
ively. 

82.  Territory  Analyzed  on  a  Consumer  Basis. — For  an 
article  sold  to  the  general  public  the  only  basis  for  esti- 
mating the  proper  dividing  lines  of  a  sales  district  is  the 
total  number  of  ultimate  consumers.  But  whether  an  ar- 
ticle is  sold  to  the  general  public  or  not,  the  number  of 
consumers,  whoever  or  whatever  kind  they  are,  constitute 
the  primary  statistical  basis  of  comparison. 

The  net  population,  or  net  prospects,  must  be  secured 
by  eliminating  all  the  unavailable  inaccessible  population 
according  to  the  best  estimates  that  can  be  secured.  Only 
those  who  can  be  reached  and  who  might  possibly  be  per- 
suaded to  buy  constitute  the  net. 

The  "inaccessible"  population  means  the  population 
which  cannot  be  reached  by  rail  or  is  too  expensive  to 
reach  for  practical  purposes. 

83.  Jobbing  Centers  and  Their  Relation  to  Sales  Terri- 
tory.— Although  jobbing  centers  are  themselves  determined 
by  the  railway  situation,  it  is  a  matter  of  freight  rates 
rather  than  passenger  convenience ;  therefore  some  differ- 
ences of  importance  in  logical  centers  of  territory  will  dis- 
close themselves. 

The  cities  which  are  located  in  strategic  points  consid- 
ering transportation  facilities  and  the  influx  of  trade  from 
the  surrounding  counties  or  states,  making  them  national 
jobbing  centers  are : 

Boston  Philadelphia  Cincinnati 

Pittsburgh  New  Orleans  St.  Paul 

Savannah  Milwaukee  Los  Angeles 

Louisville  Portland  Buffalo 

Seattle  San  Francisco  Atlanta 

Kansas  City  Chicago  St.  Louis 

New  York  City  Baltimore  Duluth 


SPLITTING  UP  SALES  TERRITORY  115 

Such,  jobbing  cities  may  logically  be  chosen  in  prefer- 
ence to  others  as  territorial  centers,  if  other  considerations 
are  equal. 

84.  Territory  as  Related  to  Routes  of  Freight  Transport.— 
Although  not  vital,  it  is  sometimes  valuable  to  give  con- 
sideration to  proposed  sales  district  territory,  as  related 
to  the  center  of  production  or  point  from  which  distribu- 
tion is  made.  Is  it  a  point  from  which,  or  to  which,  prompt 
shipment  may  be  made  ?  If,  because  of  natural  conditions, 
mountains,  rivers,  etc.,  it  is  a  quicker  road  to  the  counties 
of  Richmond,  Lancaster  and  Northumberland,  Va.,  from 
"Washington  by  auto,  it  is  useless  to  put  those  counties  in 
a  Washington,  D.  C,  or  Fredericksburg,  Va.,  territory, 
when  the  quickest  and  most  economical  way  to  deliver  is 
by  boat  from  Baltimore. 

The  attention  of  a  concern  was  once  called  to  another 
instance  of  this.  Shipments  were  being  made  by  railroad 
in  New  York,  lightered  to  some  Jersey  point,  thence  rail- 
roaded to  destination,  whereas,  if  the  shipper  had  studied 
his  maps,  he  would  have  found  that  the  factory  and  ship- 
ping point  were  in  a  straight  line  of  travel  and  that  an 
auto  truck  would  deliver  at  less  expense  and  with  greater 
dispatch  at  a  distance  of  15  miles.  Considerations  like 
these  affect  territorial  lines  and  are  profitable  to  take  into 
account. 

85.  Special  Conditions  of  Big  City  Territory. — Large  cen- 
ters such  as  New  York  and  Chicago  constitute  a  territory 
by  themselves,  which  need  to  be  subdivided  on  the  same 
principles  as  a  state,  using  wards  or  streets  for  boundaries. 

Metropolitan  territory  is  always  by  far  the  most  diffi- 
cult to  handle  unless  it  is  well  organized  and  subdivided. 
A  shoe  manufacturer  who  had  a  careful  analysis  made  of 
the  New  York  district,  had  prepared  a  large  elaborate  map 
on  which  location  of  prospects  with  their  consumption 
possibilities    were    indicated    by    different    colored    pins. 


116  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

Rigid!  territorial  lines  were  then  designed,  to  displace  the 
chaotic  condition  which  had  prevailed,  in  which  salesmen, 
because  of  personal  acquaintances  in  the  trade,  were  call- 
ing on  customers  in  all  sections  of  the  city — each  sales- 
maJi  "criss-crossing"  the  entire  territory.  Great  econ- 
omy resulted  from  the  change,  aaid  of  course  greater  sales. 
This  is  a  danger  peculiar  to  large  city  markets. 

Frequently  the  enormity  and  complexity  of  big  city 
markets  like  New  York  or  Chicago  scare  away  many  who 
should  be  doing  a  thriving  business.  There  are  many  na- 
tionally known  and  nationally  advertised  articles  which 
are  not  kept  in  stock  by  a  single  New  York  or  Chicago 
or  Boston  dealer.  The  reason  is  fear  and  lack  of  facilities 
or  courage  to  make  the  detailed  analysis  necessary. 

A  big  city  market  should  always  first  be  divided  into 
natural  zones  graded  according  to  classes  of  prospects, 
volume  or  type  of  trade,  average  house  rentals,  etc.,  and 
then  concentrated  upon  with  a  selling  plan.  If  autos  or 
trucks  are  to  be  part  of  the  sales  plan  it  is  important  to 
cut  the  territory  on  a  basis  of  auto  routes  as  well. 

In  fact,  zones  in  big  cities  will  largely  depend  on  rapid- 
ity of  call  and  delivery  of  goods.  This  is  determined  by 
what  competitors  do  and  what  the  trade  expects. 

In  a  few  large  cities,  a  daily  paper  has  canvassed  the 
city,  making  commercial  surveys  (as  did  the  Neiv  York 
Globe  and  the  Chicago  Trihune).  The  work  gives  the 
names  and  addresses  of  practically  every  retailer  and  esti- 
mates the  buying  power  of  each  section.  From  this  in- 
formation, salesmen  can  be  routed  and  from  previous 
experience  as  to  possible  calls  in  a  day  and  a  glance  at 
these  splendid  maps,  a  very  fair  territory  can  be  assigned. 
In  some  of  the  medium-sized  cities,  wholesale  concerns  and 
Chambers  of  Commerce  have  compiled  similar  information, 
so  that  route  lists  of  retailers  can  be  purchased.  For  in- 
stance, Columbus,  Ohio,  is  divided  into  four  sections,  trol- 


SPLITTING  UP  SALES  TERRITORY  11? 

ley  traffic  determining  the  division,  and  the  dealers  so 
listed  that  even  a  green  man  can  peg  his  way  around  effi- 
ciently. 

86.  Territorial  Sales  Organizations. — District  sales  or- 
ganizations requiring  many  salesmen  are  best  built  up  by 
giving  district  managers  Vi^ho  are  on  commission  a  free 
hand  to  build  up  sales,  the  men  called  "juniors"  directly 
under  them  being  required  to  observe  the  standard  rules 
of  the  house.  Where  not  over  100  salesmen  are  required 
to  work  the  field,  "direct  routing"  from  the  home  office 
is  best,  in  order  to  keep  all  salesmen  up  to  strict  and  uni- 
form standard,  and  to  line  up  the  work  to  the  headquar- 
ters standard. 

"When  there  are  many  men  under  district  salesmanagers 
it  is  necessary  to  organize  the  territory  and  route  it  for 
traveling  lecturers,  sales  conventions,  etc.,  to  keep  the  or- 
ganization at  high  pitch.  Territorial  sales  organizations 
are  in  constant  need  of  expert  attention  from  headquarters. 

The  cutting  up  of  sub-territory  in  a  branch  by  the 
branch  manager  should  have  the  careful  review  of  the 
headquarters  staff,  as  many  serious  errors  are  made  and 
bickerings  started.  The  cutting  down  of  a  salesman's  ter- 
ritory is  always  a  delicate  operation,  more  delicate  than 
adding  to  it. 

The  same  principles  of  splitting  up  general  territory 
apply  in  miniature  to  splitting  up  branch  territory.  A 
salesman  should  be  granted  the  right  of  appeal  to  head- 
quarters on  any  mention  of  trouble  over  territory  assign- 
ments. 

87.  An  Efficient  Layout  of  National  Sales  Districts. — It  is 
an  excellent  idea,  in  efficient  sales  district  planning,  to 
take  the  plan  in  use  by  some  general  national  selling 
concern  and  contrast  it  against  an  individual  case.  The 
author,  therefore,  presents  here  one  of  the  most  systematic 
sales  district  layouts  he  has  found,  that  of  a  big  electrical 


118  MODERN  SALESI^IANAGEMENT 

house  that  sells  to  both  retailers  and  large  individual  con- 
sumers, and  also  advertises  extensively  to  the  public. 

The  map  on  page  112  shows  how  it  has  districted  its 
sales  organization.  While  No.  3  seems  a  bit  large  in  pro- 
portion, it  is  only  so  in  traveling  distances,  and  is  well 
laid  out  from  a  railroad  point  of  view,  as  well  as  from 
other  points  of  view. 

The  following  is  a  table  showing  sales  district  head 
offices,  and  district  areas,  population  and  density.  An- 
other table  shows  the  subdivisions  by  boundary  lines  and 
counties. 

Population  in    Land  area  Population 
District  1910  Census      Sq.  miles  per  sq.  mile 

1  Atlanta 10,422,786        285,613  3.645 

2  Boston 5,603,998  58,739  95.41 

3  Chieaffo    25,028,562        836,215  29.93 

4  Cincinnati    10,979,461        146,576  14.89 

5  Denver    1,950,857        501,122  3.89 

6  New  York 12,158,393  54,686        222.33 

7  Philadelphia    15,585,263        174,463  89.33 

8  Pacific  Coast  4,490,096        499,275  8.99 

9  Texas    5,752,850        413,335  13.92 

88.  The  Districts  and  Their  Boundaries  and  ITatural  Cen- 
ters. 

Atlanta — S.  Carolina,  Georgia  (Except  the  Counties  of  "Whit- 
field, Catoosa,  Walker  and  Dade) ;  Florida,  Alabama,  Mis- 
sissippi, Louisiana. 

Boston — Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Vermont,  Massachusetts,  Rhode 
Island,  Connecticut  (Counties  of  Tolland,  Windham  and  New 
London). 

Chicago — Indiana  (Except  the  Counties  of  Adams,  Wells,  Grant, 
Howard,  Clinton,  Montgomeiy,  Parke,  Vig-o  and  the  territory 
south  thereof)  ;  Illinois,  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  Minnesota, 
Iowa,  Missouri,  Arkansas,  Kansas,  Nebraska  (East  of  the 
102d  Meridian);  South  Dakota  (East  of  Missouri  River); 
North  Dakota,  Montana. 

Cincinnati — Ohio  (Except  the  Comities  of  Mahoning,  Colum- 
biana, Jefferson,  Belmont  and  Monroe)  ;  Kentucky,  Tennes- 
see, North  Carolina  (Counties  of  Cherokee,  Clay,  Graham, 
Macon,  Swain,  Jackson,  Transylvania  and  Haywood } ;  In- 


SPLITTING  UP  SALES  TERRITORY  119 

diana  (Counties  of  Adams,  Wells,  Grant,  Howard,  Clinton, 
Montgomery,  Parke,  Vigo  and  the  tenitory  south  thereof) ; 
Virginia  (Counties  of  Lee,  Seott  and  Wise) ;  Georgia  (Coun- 
ties of  Whitfield,  Catoosa,  Walker  and  Dade). 

Denver — Colorado,  New  Mexico  ( Excej^t  the  Counties  of  Socorro, 
Lincoln,  Chaves,  Roosevelt  and  Curiy  and  all  temtoiy  south 
thereof) ;  Utah,  Wyoming,  South  Dakota  (West  of  Missouri 
River) ;  Idaho  (Counties  of  Adams,  Boise,  Custer,  Lemhi, 
Fremont  and  all  territory  south  thereof) ;  Nebraska  (West  of 
the  102d  Meridian)  ;  Nevada  (Counties  of  Elko,  Eureka, 
White  Pine,  Lincoln  and  Clark). 

New  York — New  York,  New  Jersey  (Counties  of  Mercer  and 
Monmouth  and  the  territory  north  thereof) ;  Connecticut 
(Counties  of  Hartford,  Litchfield,  Fairfield,  New  Haven  and 
Middlesex);  Pennsylvania  (Erie  County  only). 

Philadelphia — New  Jersey  (Except  the  Counties  of  Mercer  and 
Monmouth,  and  the  territory  north  thereof) ;  Pennsylvania 
(Except  Erie  County)  ;  Ohio  (Coimties  of  Mahoning,  Colum- 
biana, Jefferson,  Belmont  and  Monroe) ;  West  Virginia, 
Maryland,  Delaware,  District  of  Columbia,  Virginia  (Except 
the  Counties  of  Lee,  Seott  and  Wise)  ;  North  Carolina  (Ex- 
cept the  Counties  of  Cherokee,  Clay,  Graham,  Macon,  Swain, 
Jackson,  Transylvania  and  Haywood). 

Pacific  Coast — California,  Arizona  (Except  Counties  of  Santa 
Cruz,  Cochise,  Graham  and  Gila) ;  Nevada  ( Except  Counties 
of  Elko,  Eureka,  White  Pine,  Lincoln  and  Clark)  ;  Idaho 
(Except  the  Counties  of  Adams,  Boise,  Custer,  Lemhi,  Fre- 
mont and  all  tenitoiy  south  thereof) ;  Oregon,  Washington, 
Alaska,  Hawaiian  Islands. 

Texas — Oklahoma,  Arizona  (Counties  of  Santa  Cruz,  Cochise, 
Graham  and  Gila)  ;  New  Mexico  (Counties  of  Socorro,  Lin- 
coln, Chaves,  Roosevelt  and  Cuny  and  all  territory  south 
thereof) . 

89.  Data  Needed  Concerning  Sales  Districts. — The  data 
concerning  each  sales  district  which  may  profitably  be  kept 
for  standard  comparison  is  as  follows: 

a.  Total  and  per  capita  consumption — by  individual 
products,  by  grades  of  towns,  etc. 

b.  Total  and  net  population — divided  by  classes, 
wealth,  income,  occupation,  rating,  etc. 

c.  Consumers — divided  by  classes,  by  volume,  char- 
acter, products  bought,  activity,  credit,  etc. 


120  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMBNT 

d.  Prospects  divided  by  classes — former  customers,  in- 
terested, possibles,  "hard  shells,"  almost  hopeless,  black 
list. 

e.  Sales  records  for  each  of  above  separate  divisions, 
uniformit}^  for  all  districts. 

f.  Sales  records  of  each  individual  salesman — traveling 
expense  percentage,  sales,  average  efficiency  of  call,  length 
of  jumps,  etc. 

g.  Number  of  dealers  and  prospects  per  1,000  of  pop- 
ulation and  per  square  mile  and  per  mile  of  railway  re- 
quired to  travel. 

h.  Maximum  sales  per  annum  of  individual  dealers  or 
customers;  minimum  and  average  sales.  Also  average  size 
of  order,  frequency  of  order  and  variety  of  stock  carried, 
complaints,  cessations,  failures,  credits,  ratings,  cancella- 
tions, returns,  etc. 

i.  Percentage  of  distribution — of  dealers  in  each  line 
of  trade  handling  the  goods. 

j.  Competition  figures  for  as  many  of  above  items  as 
possible. 

k.  Quota  figures  and  percentages  based  on  above  fac- 
tors. 

1.  Data  concerning  jobber,  or  distributing  situations  for 
comparison. 

90.  Eeduction  of  Sales  Territory. — As  a  general  thing, 
most  sales  territories  are  too  large.  It  has  been  a  long- 
standing fault  of  most  sales  organizations  that  they  have 
attempted  to  cover  too  much  ground.  This  has  naturally 
increased  sales  expense.  A  salesman  selling  $100,000  worth 
of  goods  in  a  territory  may  be  operating  in  a  $200,000  a 
year  territory,  if  only  it  was  split  in  two  and  all  possible 
customers  canvassed.  No  territory  that  is  not  thoroughly 
worked  is  really  "covered."  Instances  are  plentiful  of 
territory  cut  in  half  3  or  4  times,  with  the  result  that  each 


SPLITTING  UP  SALES  TERRITORY  121 

time  the  territory  gets  smaller  the  sales  increase — and  of 
course  the  expenses  also  relatively  decrease. 

The  volume  of  possible  business  in  a  territory  is  the 
guiding  factor  as  to  natural  limits  of  territory.  As  a  gen- 
eral rule  a  salesman  should  have  only  as  much  territory 
as  vs'ill  provide  about  twice  his  present  sales  if  logical 
prospects  of  immediate  sales  are  considered.  Care  needs 
to  be  taken  in  splittmg  territory  to  follow  logical  travel 
routes  and  make  a  generally  equitable  subdivision. 

It  frequently  happens  that  territorial  rights  are  sold, 
and  after  the  article  is  developed  this  territory  is  neg- 
lected and  not  worked  intensively.  It  is  not  very  good 
business  to  continue  such  contracts — they  are  millstones; 
the  territory  should  be  cut  up  and  aggressively  worked. 

91.  Applying  the  Per  Capita  Measure. — Volume  of  busi- 
ness is  for  nearly  all  merchandise  of  fairly  general  con- 
sumption, in  very  close  ratio  to  population.  Therefore,  it 
is  of  the  highest  stimulative  as  well  as  statistical  value  to 
establish  special  per  capita  measures  for  cities  and  towns 
of  certain  sizes  and  grades. 

A  standard  line-up  of  classes  of  towns  by  sizes  may  be 
drawn  up ;  cities  of  300,000  and  over ;  cities  of  100,000  and 
over;  cities  of  50,000  to  100,000;  cities  of  25,000  to  50,000; 
towns  of  10  to  25,000 — all  the  way  down  to  towns  of  1,000 
to  2,500  population.  A  clear  picture  is  made  by  using  a 
system  form  giving  the  total  number  of  towns,  the  total 
population,  the  number  of  towns  sold,  total  population  of 
towns  sold,  and  net  amount  sold  per  capita,  population 
sold  and  possible  sales  total  at  some  rate  per  capita.  At 
the  bottom  of  the  table  there  may  be  shown  a  study  of 
assortments  carried — a  study  of  what  is  the  average  quota 
which  the  dealer  of  a  certain  size  in  a  certain  town  should 
carry.  Such  an  analysis  makes  comparisons  and  thereby 
exposes  the  weak  spots.  We  then  have  a  measure  of  what 
volume  ought  to  be  sold  in  any  town  of  a  certain  size. 


122  MODERN  SALESIVIANAGEMENT 

Having  this  we  can  use  it  upon  salesman  and  dealer  alike. 
It  works  this  way: — the  salesman  goes  into  Podunk  to  a 
dealer  there:  "Mr.  Jones,  your  sales  in  this  town  are  just 
about  25  per  cent  of  what  the  towns  of  your  size  are  doing. 
The  towns  of  your  size  all  around  you  and  in  other  States 
are  doing  four  times  the  amount  of  business  you  are 
doing,"  You  show  him  the  figures  to  prove  it,  and  say, 
"I  would  like  information  as  to  whether  you  think  this 
towTi  is  worse  than  the  average," 

Very  few  dealers  will  maintain  that  their  town  is  worse 
than  others.  It  is  a  strong  selling  point  to  show  him  what 
other  towns  of  the  same  size  in  other  parts  of  the  country 
do.  The  information  (based  on  actual  fact)  that  there  is 
no  difference  beyond  10  per  cent  variation  in  any  town  of 
any  similar  size  in  any  sales  proposition  sold  to  the  gen- 
eral public,  is  both  interesting  and  stimulating  to  him. 

It  is  also  valuable  to  make  a  recapitulation  by  States 
of  per  capita  sales  in  a  certain  grade  of  towns.  Another 
table  may  deal  with  all  the  grades  of  towns  in  one  State. 
At  the  top  this  form  may  show  the  general  percentage  of 
the  towns  in  this  group  sold  and  of  the  population  sold. 
(See  sj'stem  form  illustrated  herewith.) 

92.  Fitting  the  Territory  tO'  the  Salesman. — A  jobbing 
salesman's  territory  can  cover  a  space  with  enormous  pop- 
ulation, while  a  salesman  selling  retail  stores  would  have 
a  territory  in  a  city  largely  determined  by  population,  for 
population  governs  the  number  of  retail  stores  in  a  given 
community, 

A  salesman  who  makes  a  success  of  one  territory  may 
fail  in  another.  It  is  not  so  often  the  fault  of  the  sales- 
man that  he  does  not  succeed  as  it  is  the  fault  of  the  man 
who  allotted  him  the  wrong  place.  A  smart,  intelligent, 
well-bred  man  made  a  failure  of  a  Hebrew  section  of 
Chelsea,  Mass.,  but  he  is  now  a  howling  success  in  Boston 
5ack  Bay,  where  the  environment  suits  his  nature.     The 


SPLITTING  UP  SALES  TERRITORY         123 

enthusiastic  type  of  mind  may  be  at  a  disadvantage  in  a 
field  where  the  cold,  calculating  buyer  is  found.  Territory 
may  best  be  allotted  to  the  man  where  the  line  of  thought 
is  similar  to  his  own,  A  Western  man  may  lose  his  con- 
fidence in  himself  endeavoring  to  sell  in  a  conservative 
Eastern  State. 

A  man  accustomed  to  the  mentality  of  men  in  big  con- 
cerns cannot  easily  get  the  attitude  of  the  small  trades- 
man, and  vice  versa.  In  the  food  products  line,  it  has  been 
shown  that  a  type  of  mind  such  as  one  finds  in  an  aggres- 
sive grocery  clerk,  arrives  at  a  quick  understanding  with 
the  man  who  runs  the  small  grocery  store;  whereas  other 
types,  accustomed  to  deal  with  more  intelligence,  does  not 
make  a  hit  with  the  commoner  types  of  retailers. 

Acquaintanceship  is  a  factor  which  often  comes  up  for 
attention — should  it  be  counted  in  allotting  territory? 
One  concern  in  marketing  a  certain  competitive  article 
followed  this  procedure:  men  acquainted  with  the  trade 
were  secured  and  allowed  to  go  where  they  pleased.  After 
a  definite  period  territories  were  laid  out  to  include  the 
greatest  number  of  accounts  possible,  secured  by  these 
men. 

It  is  better,  however,  to  fit  the  salesman  to  the  class  of 
prospects  he  knows  without  compelling  him  to  scatter  his 
efforts  over  a  wide  area.  To  do  this  requires  full  infor- 
mation, not  only  of  facts  concerning  the  territory,  but  the 
kind  of  people  in  the  territory  and  the  degree  of  resistance 
to  be  encountered.  A  salesman  transferred  from  territory 
where  sales  have  been  established  to  a  territory  where  the 
entire  proposition  is  new,  and  where  it  is  indifferently  re- 
ceived, ofttimes  is  irreparably  harmed — his  confidence  in 
himself  or  his  goods  is  given  too  great  a  jar. 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE  SELECTION  OF  SALESMEN 

93.  Wliy  Salesmen  Are  Difficult  to  Select. — Few  subjects 
have  interested  and  puzzled  salesmanagers  as  much  as  the 
picking  of  good  salesmen.  INIany  salesmanagers  have  de- 
veloped superstitions  and  rules  of  thumb  on  the  subject; 
others  have  given  considerable  credence  to  alleged  sciences, 
such  as  phrenology,  etc. 

The  difficulty  is,  of  course,  that  a  good  salesman  must 
nearly  always  sell  intangible  considerations;  must  appeal 
to  imagination  and  must  day  after  day  pit  himself  vigor- 
ously against  powerful  opposing  forces.  Such  work  calls 
for  intangible  (and  therefore  invisible)  qualities  in  sales- 
men, which  can  only  be  detected  by  a  considerable  degree 
of  probing.  There  are  simple-minded  types  of  people  who 
imagine  that  externals  indicate  a  salesmen,  but  no  greater 
mistake  can  be  made.  The  selection  of  a  good  salesman  is 
so  uncertain  a  matter  that  many  experienced  salesmanagers 
frankly  admit  it  is  a  gamble,  and  others  rely  chiefly  on  the 
intensity  of  desire  of  the  applicant  to  be  a  salesmen  (even 
if,  as  in  one  actual  case,  he  is  a  street  car  conductor). 

Nevertheless,  there  persists  a  feeling,  based  on  experi- 
ence, that  a  good  judge  of  human  nature,  as  a  salesmanager 
is  always  presumed  to  be,  can  size  up  a  man  and  by  semi- 
mysterious  ability  or  clairvoyance,  pick  the  man  who  has 
real  salesmanship  material  in  him.  Many  salesmanagers 
regard  such  an  ability  as  perhaps  their  chief  stock-in- 
trade. 

But  it  is  a  very  serious  question  whether  the  most  ex- 

124 


THE  SELECTION  OF  SALESMEN  125 

perienced  judges  of  human  nature  can  get  very  far  in 
selecting  men  by  personal  size-up  alone.  Salesmen  are 
trained  to  "put  up  a  front"  and  the  bitter  truth  is  that 
large  numbers  of  mere  rioaters  and  dishonest  men  get  on 
the  payrolls  of  salesmanagers  for  drawing  accounts  from 
a  number  of  firms  all  at  one  time.  They  look  and  talk 
like  good  salesmen,  but  are  crooks.  Many  of  the  very  best 
salesmen  make  a  poor  first  impression  and  are  strangely 
self-conscious  in  an  interview  over  a  job.  Ability  to  sell 
merchandise  is  ofttimes  in  inverse  ratio  to  ability  to  sell 
himself. 

It  must  be  admitted,  therefore,  that  selecting  salesmen 
is  one  of  the  most  unsatisfactory  phases  of  salesmanage- 
ment  at  the  present  time ;  there  is  little  reliable  knowledge 
to  go  by. 

94.  Can  Salesmen  Be  Picked  from  Appearance? — First 
impressions  about  sales  applicants  are  everywhere  agreed 
to  be  dangerous.  Hugh  Chalmers  made  it  a  rule  never  to 
hire  a  man  during  a  first  interview.  But  what  judgments, 
if  any,  are  proper  to  make  of  a  man  who  sits  before  you? 

Phrenology,  contrary  to  the  belief  of  some,  can  offer  very 
little  help.  At  best,  physical  characteristics  offer  sugges- 
tions but  not  facts  about  a  man.  Most  of  the  qualities 
that  make  real  salesmen  are  far  from  anything  physical. 
It  is  true  that  all  men  instinctively  admire  a  good  physique, 
a  graceful  physique;  and  it  is  even  true  that  there  is 
something  confidence-inspiring  in  mere  size,  when  not 
marred  by  other  typical  characteristics  of  men  of  large 
size,  such  as  slovenliness  and  lackadaisical  attitude. 

But  as  for  "tell-tale"  charactertistics  in  facial  forma- 
tion or  other  externalities,  they  are  extremely  likely  to  be 
misleading,  beyond  very  simple  limits.  Moreover,  a  sales- 
manager  is  usually  prejudiced  in  his  idea  of  appearances 
by  his  own  appearance.  In  Detroit  a  test  of  a  group  of 
salesmanagers  showed  that  there  was  practically  no  uni- 


126  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

formity  among  salesmanagers  in  their  ratings  of  the  same 
men.  Their  intuitions  were  all  personal  and  individual 
to  them.  One  salesmanager  would  rate  a  man  3,  another 
13  and  another  57. 

One  firm  overcomes  this  by  having  a  standard  rating 
form,  and  five  instead  of  one  executive  interview  a  man, 
and  the  average  of  their  ratings  are  accepted  as  the  real 
one.  But  is  even  this  conclusive?  Few  salesmen  could 
face  a  "jury  of  five"  and  register  their  true  selves. 

As  to  the  claims  made  for  detection  of  certain  qualities 
by  certain  facial  or  other  characteristics,  certain  facts,  it 
is  true,  may  be  ascertained,  but  their  value  after  being 
ascertained  is  conditioned  by  so  many  other  facts  that 
they  can  only  be  called  contributory  facts  after  all.  For 
instance,  a  thick  neck  and  large  nostrils  are  known  medi- 
cally to  denote  more  than  usual  vitality.  But  such  mat- 
ters of  popular  supposition  such  as  squareness  of  jaw, 
highness  of  forehead,  shape  or  contour  of  head,  or  shape 
of  nose  offer  no  reliable  information  whatever  which  has 
stood  authoritative  test.  The  only  judgments  valid  to 
make  about  a  man's  physique  are  on  matters  of  physique. 
It  is  the  attempt  to  read  mental  meanings  into  physical 
characteristics  that  is  unwarranted. 

The  real  values  to  be  secured  from  judgment  by  ap- 
pearance are  not  so  much  from  the  applicant's  body  as 
from  his  mind  and  spirit  as  they  evidence  themselves  in 
conversation  and  general  personality.  It  is  here  that 
knowledge  of  human  nature  shows  in  judging  a  man's  ag- 
gressiveness, his  prevailing  moods  and  temperament,  his 
characteristic  attitude,  his  quality  of  reasoning,  his  edu- 
cation, environment,  dominating  ideas  or  principles,  his 
moral  values,  etc.  All  these  things  have  very  important 
bearing  on  selling,  and  can  only  be  accurately  judged  from 
the  man  himself ;  but  certainly  not  from  his  mere  physical 
appearance. 


THE  SELECTION  OP  SALESMEN  127 

95.  The  Use  of  Application  Forms. — A  number  of  very 
elaborate  application  forms  for  salesmen  have  been  de- 
vised. All  have  good  points  to  them,  for  certainly  almost 
any  information  about  a  man  may  help  in  judging  him. 
But  there  is  a  decided  danger  in  the  use  of  application 
forms.  They  are  self-rating  forms — filled  in  by  the  ap- 
plicant, and  must  be  discounted  in  many  respects  because 
no  man  can  accurately  or  honestly  rate  himself. 

Application  forms  should  never  ask  for  anything  but 
specific  fact  answers;  never  judgments  of  self. 

96.  Need  for  Applying*  Scientific  Test  to  Applicants. — ■ 
Because  of  the  fact  that  there  are  many  fairly  adequate 
standards  for  testing  men  in  many  other  vocations,  it  has 
naturally  been  expected  that  the  application  of  science 
to  the  selection  of  salesmen  would  also  yield  results.  A 
group  of  large  concerns  have  endowed  a  special  depart- 
ment in  the  Carnegie  Institute  of  Technology  at  Pitts- 
burgh, with  Professor  Walter  Dill  Scott  at  the  head,  to 
work  out  possible  scientific  methods  for  such  selection. 
This  Professor  Scott  himself  realizes  is  a  long  and  labor- 
ious process.  Nevertheless,  Professor  Scott  has  done  some 
interesting  work  already  along  this  line,  utilizing  the  sales 
forces  of  a  number  of  prominent  concerns.  Other  experi- 
menters and  psychologists  are  also  at  work  on  this  project, 
and  in  the  course  of  time  no  doubt  something  valuable  will 
come  forth.  Professor  Scott  did  unmistakably  demon- 
strate in  his  test  with  a  great  tobacco  house  and  their  sales- 
men that  there  is  a  correlation  between  the  judgment  of 
the  salesmanager  and  the  results  of  a  scientific  test.  It 
was  a  high  ratio,  and  certainly  speaks  well  for  the  con- 
servative application  of  some  form  of  scientific  test.  Pro- 
fessor Scott  was  wise  enough  not  to  use  any  arbitrary 
standard  for  judgment,  but  endeavored  to  secure  some 
measure  of  native  ability  by  the  use  of  intelligent  tests 
of  a  general  sort  which  gave  a  clue  to  such  native  ability. 


128  MODERN  SALESIVIANAGEMENT 

The  success  in  the  high  correlation  of  these  tests  with 
practical  judgment  would  indicate  that  the  native  ability 
of  a  man,  his  quickness,  his  general  intelligence,  his 
judgment,  his  knowledge  is  of  considerable  more  im- 
portance than  any  so-called  salesmanship  science  or  spe- 
cial rule  of  thumb  formula  for  making  a  success  at 
selling. 

It  would  appear  that  it  will  soon  be  possible  to  list  a 
group  of  native  qualities  which  a  salesman  needs  to  have, 
and  even  to  give  some  measure  of  that  quality  which  he 
needs  to  have  as  a  minimum  in  order  to  stand  a  chance 
of  succeeding  as  a  salesman.  Once  such  a  test  is  developed 
and  it  stands  the  rough-and-tumble  usage  of  ordinary 
practice,  it  will  be  a  great  boon,  alike  to  salesmen.  Much 
waste  of  energy  and  feeling  comes  as  a  result  of  men  who 
can  never  hope  to  sell  with  their  present  equipment  of 
native  quality,  trying  to  make  salesmen  out  of  themselves, 
or  of  salesmanagers  who  for  pride  and  stubbornness'  sake 
waste  their  energy  trying  to  make  salesmen  of  men  who 
should  not  be  asked  to  waste  their  time  on  it. 

One  salesmanager  has  devised  a  homely  but  practical 
way  of  rating  men,  according  to  plus-minus  qualities.  He 
analyzes  each  man  according  to  the  specific  qualities  here 
outlined,  and  marks  alongside  of  each  one  a  figure.  The 
qualities  used  are  as  follows: 

Plus  Qimlities  Minus  Qualities 

agreeable  bad-tempered 

dignified  grouchy 

loyal  intemperate 

willing  variable 

trustworthy  easily  discouraged 

well  poised  jealous 

fine  in  appearance  sensitive 

broad-visioned  treacherous 


THE  SELECTION  OF  SALESMEN  129 

Plus  Qualities  Minus  Qualities 
energetic  lacking  in  spirit 
strong  of  personality  egotistic 
persistent  lazy- 
regardful  of  discipline  unambitious 

He  marks  the  man  up  to  10  for  each  one  of  the  plus 
or  minus  qualities;  and  then  subtracts  from  the  plus 
total  the  total  minus  qualities.  This  process  accurately 
establishes  a  coordinate  figure  representing  general  de- 
sirability from  both  a  plus  and  minus  point  of  view. 

The  plan  is,  like  all  judgment  plans,  open  to  error, 
but  in  the  absence  of  a  better  plan  is  systematic. 

97.  Principal  Native  Qualities  Generally  Agreed  to  be 
Essential  for  Salesmen. — At  the  present  time  in  the  absence 
of  any  more  accurate  means  of  picking  salesmen,  the 
consensus  of  experience  and  opinion  favors  a  cautious  in- 
tuitive judgment  of  a  candidate.  This  judgment  must 
be  a  thoroughly  sympathetic  yet  hard-headed  judgment, 
without  having  been  swayed  by  any  tricks  of  personality 
or  personal  bias.  It  must  be  a  judgment  cool  enough  to 
see  that  the  best  salesman  of  the  year  may  lurk  behind 
an  untidy  and  even  an  antagonizing  exterior  personality. 
It  must  be  a  judgment  clear  enough  to  detect  the  signs 
of  false  values,  fatal  weaknesses  and  latent  possibilities; 
yet  deliberate  enough  not  to  be  too  easily  affected  by  first 
impressions. 

The  nearest  approach  to  system  possible  by  this  intuitive 
method  is  to  set  down  the  principal  native  qualities  agreed 
to  be  essential  in  selling — the  qualities  which  some  men 
seem  bom  with  and  others  deliberately  acquire  by  cultiva- 
tion. 

1.  Stamina,  staying  power,  stubborn  persistence;  un- 
willingness or  inability  to  acknowledge  or  even  recognize 
defeat. 


130  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

^.  Persuasive  force;  physical  magnetism  or  patient  fa- 
cility in  affecting  the  ideas  and  opinions  of  others. 

3.  Unusual  energy  and  ambition  to  succeed  in  selling; 
restless  dynamic  power  and  punch  in  following  up  sales 
work;  desire  to  make  a  good  income  at  selling. 

4.  Quickness  and  adaptability;  sociability;  diplomacy; 
readiness  to  adjust  to  surroundings  and  to  different  tem- 
peraments. 

5.  Alertness  and  perception ;  ready  absorption  of  in- 
formation ;  intelligent  grasp  of  a  situation ;  versatility ; 
soldier-like  discipline  and  esprit  de  corps  in  following  a 
leader. 

Any  man  with  a  fair  share  of  the  qualities  enumerated 
above  can  sell  goods — not  any  or  all  kinds  of  goods,  nor 
in  any  or  all  territories  perhaps,  but  the  qualities  listed 
are  the  solid  ground  underneath  any  selling  ability.  Some 
salesmen,  when  analyzed,  will  be  found  to  have  only  a  few 
of  these  qualities,  but  these  few  exceptionally  well  de- 
veloped; while  others  will  have  a  more  even  distribution. 
An  excellent  plan  is  to  rate  applicants  for  these  five  sets 
of  qualities  on  a  percentage  scale ;  a  maximum  of  20  points 
to  each  set,  or  a  total  of  100  possible  points  for  all  five. 
If  special  conditions  for  selling  of  a  certain  article  make 
one  or  more  of  these  qualities  more  important  than  others, 
they  can  be  "weighted"  by  allowing  25  or  30  points  in- 
stead of  20,  deducting  correspondingly  from  the  others. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  even  when  done  by  a 
master  analysist,  an  intuitive  judgment  of  men  on  these 
points  is  certain  to  be  imperfect.  Therefore  the  utmost 
clear-eyed  judgment  and  care  should  be  exercised  in  rating 
men,  since  it  means  so  much  both  for  the  man  and  the 
employer  not  to  make  a  mistake.  The  typical  fault  of  any 
intuitional  judgment  is  the  easy  swiftness  with  which 
it  is  usually  made  and  the  stubborn  cocksureness  with 
which  it  is  usually  clung  to.     The  best  safeguard  against 


THE  SELECTION  OF  SALESMEN  131 

this  is  to  have  two  or  three  executives,  preferably  of  op- 
posite temperaments,  rate  the  applicants,  and  then  merge 
ithe  results.  The  rating  should  never  under  any  circum- 
stances be  done  at  a  first  interview,  and  should  preferably 
be  in  informal  surroundings. 

98.  "Star"  Salesmen  versus  Average  Salesmen. — The  con- 
viction has  slowly  dawned  on  salesmanagers  after  years 
of  experience  that  the  hopeful  searching  for  "star"  sales- 
men is  a  superstitious  error;  that  not  only  are  "star" 
salesmen  (in  the  sense  of  super-brilliant  performers)  a 
doubtful  asset,  but  that  they  take  attention  away  from 
the  rank  and  file,  and  discourage  the  all-important  aver- 
age man.  A  great  mistake  very  common  among  sales- 
managers  in  the  past  has  been  the  affectionate  coddling 
of  a  small  group  of  star  men,  and  the  shaping  of  all  rules, 
plans  and  efforts  on  the  assumption  that  all  salesmen 
were  or  should  be  like  the  so-called  star  men.  Nothing 
could  be  a  more  costly  sales  fallacy.  It  has  well  been  said 
that  the  most  important  job  of  the  salesmanager  is  to  de- 
velop "the  tailenders." 

The  salesmanager  habitually  looking  over  applicants  for 
a  star  salesman  invariably  commits  two  errors  (1)  of  over- 
looking the  valuable  average  man;  (2)  of  being  either  too 
credulous  or  too  critical  of  the  material  which  comes  be- 
fore him.  He  is  under  the  handicap  of  trying  to  fit  a  suit 
of  clothes  built  for  Apollo  upon  the  average  run  of  men, 
with  the  result  either  that  he  puts  the  clothes  on  a  man 
whom  they  don't  fit  and  makes  himself  believe  they  fit, 
or  else  he  never  finds  any  one  whom  they  will  fit. 

It  is  upon  average  salesmen  whom  ninety-nine  one- 
hundredths  of  the  selling  of  the  business  world  must  de- 
pend. The  "star"  salesman  who  is  making  big  sales  may 
usually  be  explained  either  by  some  special  advantage  or 
by  methods  and  helps  which  if  operated  by  average  sales- 
men would  make  "star"  men  of  them,  too.     The  true-to- 


132  MODERN  SALESIMANAGEMENT 

type,  bona-fide  "star"  salesman  is  as  a  rule  a  highly  in- 
dividual, emotionally  keyed-up  man  with  a  temperament 
which  brooks  little  or  no  discipline,  is  no  team-worker, 
is  vain  and  jealous.  He  rarely  stays  long  with  one  prop- 
osition, and  works  only  in  spurts.  He  is  not  a  good  man, 
as  a  rule,  to  introduce  into  a  sales  force ;  not  infrequently 
he  operates  by  questionable  methods  the  full  details  of 
which  he  regards  as  his  secret  capital  stock  in  trade,  and 
which  are  boomerangs. 

The  nearer  to  the  ''norm,"  or  average,  a  man  is  the 
more  promise  he  offers  and  the  less  chance  of  failure  or 
friction.  I\Iediocrit3^  is  only  undesirable  in  salesmen  over 
35  years  of  age  when  it  has  become  a  habit. 

99.  Preference  for  Young  "Green"  Material. — A  surpris- 
ingly large  percentage  of  salesmanagers  have  a  distinct 
preference  for  "green"  material,  usually  in  the  shape  of 
young  college  men.  The  reason  for  this  common  prefer- 
ence is  simple: — it  is  a  salesmanager's  "easiest  way."  In- 
stead of  the  diplomacy  and  partial  self-effacement  called 
for  in  the  handling  of  salesmen  of  mature  years  and 
some  experience,  a  salesmanager  has  little  trouble  in 
stamping  his  own  ideas  upon  the  pliable  minds  of  verj' 
young  men.  The  more  vanity  or  egotism  or  laziness  of 
mind  he  has  the  more  surely  does  he  prefer  this  method. 
It  surrounds  him  with  a  crowd  of  young  hero  worshipers 
before  W'hom  he  can  strut  and  whose  every  word  will  be 
listened  to  religiously.  There  is  no  difficulty  in  such  a 
method  of  handling  a  group  of  difTering  personalities — 
young  men  can  be  herded  and  trained  and  managed  as  a 
crowd.  They  have  just  come  from  a  place  (school)  where 
the  crowd  method  of  handling  them  was  in  operation.  They 
are  used  to  it. 

But  while  this  method  has  a  fair  measure  of  success 
to  its  credit,  it  has  many  grave  defects.  The  most  serious 
is  the  effect  on  the  salesmanager  himself.     He  is  tempted 


THE  SELECTION  OF  SALESMEN  133 

to  "schoolmaster"  his  salesmen  and  deaden  their  initiative 
so  that  they  always  wait  upon  him  for  their  inspiration, 
ideas  and  energy. 

Moreover,  a  salesmanager  who  has  a  chronic  prefer- 
ence for  young,  green  material  frequently  limits  his  own 
sales  volume.  He  tries  to  fit  his  own  conception  of  sales- 
manship ready-made  upon  every  one  of  the  men,  with  a 
result  that  it  does  not  fit  the  characters  of  the  men,  and 
He  never  secures  the  variety  of  appeal  and  approach  which 
would  logically  come  from  a  sales-force  more  varied  and 
individual,  which  he  could  shift  about  to  fit  the  equally 
varied  conditions  of  the  field. 

From  the  standpoint  of  the  firm  such  a  policy  is  espe- 
cially bad,  as  it  encourages  a  purely  personal  basis  be- 
tween salesmen  and  salesmanager  which  destroys  a  large 
part  of  the  efficiency  of  the  force  if  the  salesmanager  is 
changed.  There  are  cases  where  such  young  salesmen 
cannot  sell  unless  their  particular  salesmanager  is  guid- 
ing them. 

There  is  no  basic  objection  to  young  green  material, 
if  it  is  not  made  a  mere  obstinate  rule.  There  is  no 
doubt  of  the  greater  adaptability  of  young  men ;  of  their 
greater  ease  of  management,  and  quicker  response  to  stim- 
ulation. But  it  must  always  be  remembered  that  they 
correspondingly  become  more  easily  and  rapidly  discour^ 
aged,  and  have  less  weight  and  influence  in  counsel  with 
retailers  or  customers  than  men  of  more  substantial  and 
mature  individuality.  Young  men  may  have  more  ''zip," 
and  "go  over  the  top"  with  more  careless  courage  than 
older  men,  but  they  always  need  their  stimulators  very- 
close  by  while  they  do  so.  In  selling  the  salesman  is  nearly 
always  out  grappling  alone  with  obstacles,  and  in  the  long 
run  under  such  conditions  it  is  the  mature  individuality 
wh^ch  grapples  best.    Any  selection  of  young  green  mate- 


134  MODERN  SALESIklANAGEMENT 

rial  should  be  for  the  purpose  of  as  swiftly  as  possible 
making  it  self-sustaining  and  thoroughly  individual. 

As  for  the  preference  of  some  salesmanagers  for 
"green"  salesmen  (not  young,  but  who  have  never  sold 
the  line  before),  this  is  a  moot  question.  The  claim  is 
made  that  salesmen  gather  prejudices  and  set  notions  as 
they  work  at  a  line,  and  it  is  hard  if  not  impossible  for 
them  to  unlearn  these  notions.  The  obvious  logical  an- 
swer is  that  the  matter  hinges  not  upon  the  question  of 
a  rule  to  prefer  green  material,  but  upon  the  question 
of  the  individual  candidate's  attitude  toward  his  expe- 
rience and  to  himself.  i 

100.  Selecting  Salesmen  Who  Can  Sell  Policies  as  Well  CS' 
Merchandise. — There  is  a  new  and  vital  factor  arising  in 
the  selection  of  salesmen.  Salesmen  formerly  were  se- 
lected for  ability  to  sell  merchandise — concrete,  physical 
merchandise.  But  salesmanship  to  fit  modern  needs  and 
conditions  has  greatly  changed  in  its  requirements  from 
salesmen.  The  modem  selling  proposition  is  often  40% 
merchandise  and  60%  service,  prestige  and  psychology.  In 
other  words,  the  typical  sale  is  not  wood,  steel  or  paper, 
but  service,  satisfaction,  re-orders,  turnover,  demand,  ad- 
vertising, and  the  reputation  of  the  house.  Indeed  some 
firms  (to  name  an  example,  Hart,  Schaffner  &  Marx,  delib- 
erately instruct  their  salesmen  to  take  largely  for  granted 
the  tangible  merits  of  the  merchandise  and  to  sell  instead 
the  above-mentioned  intangible  values.  It  is  necessary  to 
do  so  in  many  cases  because  dealers  themselves  are  getting 
wise  to  the  fact  that  merchandise  in  itself  is  not  the  im- 
portant thing  to  buy;  that  they  must  buy  salability,  ad- 
vertising support,  steady  customer  development  and  turn- 
over opportunity. 

Most  live  houses  to-day  are  requiring  that  their  sales- 
men devote  at  least  one-half  or  two-thirds  of  their  canvass 
to  the  selling  of  these  intangible  values — the  advertising 


THE  SELECTION  OF  SALESMEN  135 

of  the  house,  its  policies,  its  idea  of  service,  the  service 
which  the  article  gives  to  the  consumer,  etc. 

Now,  there  is  a  very  decided  difference  between  the 
selling  of  intangible  things  and  tangible  things.  A  manual 
type  of  character — that  is,  a  man  with  the  instinct  for 
mechanics  and  concrete  things — and  who  lacks  imagination, 
versatility  and  mental  outlook  and  the  ability  to  think  ab- 
stractly, is  at  a  very  decided  disadvantage  in  the  selling 
of  intangible  merchandise.  A  man  who  can  sell  drill- 
presses,  for  instance,  is  usually  a  mighty  poor  hand  at  sell- 
ing a  set  of  books.  A  set  of  books  represents  only  a  heap 
of  paper — valueless,  unless  the  imagination  of  the  prospect 
is  built  up  to  a  point  where  he  will  appreciate  the  abstract 
ideas  which  are  contained  in  that  set  of  books.  Conse- 
quently, the  successful  book  salesmen  must  have  in  a  high 
degree  the  ability  to  sell  intangible  values.  There  are  such 
book  salesmen  who  never  even  show  the  books  to  the  pros- 
pect and  sell  the  stuff  merely  by  their  talk.  This  is  selling 
intangible  values  with  a  vengeance! 

A  large  agricultural  concern  in  the  West  so  much  appre- 
ciates this  factor  of  ability  to  sell  intangible  values  in 
salesmen  that  they  have  actually  selected  for  salesmen  in 
preference  to  agricultural  men,  men  who  have  sold  adver- 
tising space,  on  the  practical  theory  that  as  their  sales- 
men are  obliged  to  sell  a  great  deal  of  the  house's  adver- 
tising and  to  talk  both  the  house's  national  advertising 
and  the  dealer's  own  retail  advertising,  that  they  simply 
had  to  ha(ve  men  who  understood  the  subject  and  who  could 
sell  it.  This  firm  had  floundered  around  for  years  with  the 
old  type  of  agricultural  implement  salesman  who  knew 
mechanics  from  A  to  Z  and  who  did  not  seem  to  "get  over" 
in  competition  with  other  live  concerns.  They  woke  up 
finally  to  the  fact  that  they  were  not  really  selling  steel 
and  wood,  but  were  actually  selling  service,  advertising 
cooperation  to  the  retailer,  etc. — a  type  of  merchandise 


136  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

with  which  their  salesmen  were  not  at  all  familiar  or 
adapted  by  nature  and  capability  of  selling.  Endeavors 
to  train  them  to  sell  this  kind  of  merchandise  were  unsuc- 
cessful, and  these  old-timers  were  finally  eliminated,  and 
modern  men  who  understood  how  to  sell  intangible  values 
were  put  in  their  places  with  decided  success. 

The  average  salesman  who  sells  a  dealer,  sells  a  line  of 
goods  which  averages  only  from  %  of  1  to  5%  the  total 
volume  of  that  dealer's  business.  It  can  readily  be  imag- 
ined then  that  an  up-to-date  dealer  cannot  give  very  much 
of  his  time  to  a  salesman  selling  a  mere  fraction  of  his 
total  volume.  He  has  bigger  things  to  think  about,  and 
unless  that  salesman  can  think  about  those  things  with  him, 
and  talk  in  terms  of  one  hundred  per  cent  of  his  selling 
problems  instead  of  one-half  of  one  per  cent,  the  salesman 
is  bound  in  the  average  to  get  scant  attention.  The  sales- 
man, on  the  other  hand,  who  talks  the  whole  one  hundred 
per  cent  is  the  really  welcome  man  there,  and  consequently 
general  broad  business  ability  and  helpfulness  are  super- 
seding in  importance  the  mere  technical  knowledge  of  the 
salesman  of  his  goods.  It  matters  much  less  than  it  ever 
did  before  whether  a  salesman  knows  tht  intricate  details 
of  his  product  in  a  technical  way;  but  it  matters  a  tre- 
mendous lot  that  he  is  able  to  sit  down  with  a  merchant 
and  discuss  the  real  things  that  dealer  is  interested  in, 
whether  with  regard  to  his  particular  line  of  merchandise 
or  his  whole  business  problem. 

101.  Selecting  Salesmen  to  Fit  Type  of  Men  They  Will 
Sell  to. — A  salesman's  requirements  are  best  judged  by  the 
type  of  mind  which  he  is  going  to  be  asked  to  encounter. 
Salesmen  who  will  be  required  to  sell  to  grocers  or  res- 
taurants need  not  be  of  the  same  grade  of  intelligenee  as 
if  they  were  to  sell  to  druggists  or  hardware  dealers ;  while 
selling  to  jewelers  or  to  department  stores  is  a  wholly  dif- 
ferent proposition. 


THE  SELECTION  OF  SALESMEN  137 

The  measure  of  the  type  of  mind  he  is  going  to  en- 
counter is  most  easily  judged  by  the  average  amount  per 
sale.  A  proposition  which  has  an  average  amount  per 
sale  of  $10  or  even  up  to  $100  in  staples  need  to  be  but 
a  common  level  of  mind  and  mentality;  but  a  proposition 
going  higher  than  that  demands  a  special  amount  of  busi- 
ness judgment  in  proportion. 

It  was  once  possible  to  differentiate  in  requirements  be- 
tween salesmen  who  sold  staples  and  those  who  sold  spe- 
cialties, specialty  salesmen  naturally  requiring  the  most 
aggressiveness  and  staying  power.  But  to-day  nearly  all 
staples  have  been  made  over  into  specialties  through  the 
package  and  the  trademark,  and  the  principles  of  sales- 
manship and  sales  development  formerly  confined  to  spe- 
cialties are  now  vigorously  (and  resultfully)  applied  by 
staple  sellers.  Mere  "order  takers"  are  taboo  in  all  fields, 
and  a  general  grading  upward  of  salesmen  for  all  classes 
of  merchandise  has  been  occurring. 

Generally  speaking,  no  salesman  must  be  of  a  kind  or 
character  likely  to  appear  too  superior  to  the  prospect; 
especially  not  in  social  level.  Nor  must  he  have  any  man- 
nerisms calculated  to  apppear  out  of  keeping  with  the 
surroundings  he  will  meet.  A  monocled  Englishman  of 
polished  manners  and  a  broad  A  pronunciation  selling  to 
East  Side  New  York  delicatessen  stores  would  be  the  height 
of  absurdity,  to  mention  an  extreme.  Yet  such  extremes 
are  commonly  met  with. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

METHODS  OF  PAYING  SALESMEN 

102.  Difficulties  and  Problems  in  Salesmen's  Compensa* 
tion. — Salesmen,  like  soldiers,  are  kept  going  at  their  diffi- 
cult tasks  by  incentive.  Money  and  honor  are  the  principal 
incentives  for  salesmen ;  and  of  the  two  money  is,  of  course, 
the  principal  stimulus.  But  owing  to  the  peculiar  condi- 
tions under  which  salesmen  work,  the  method  of  payment 
of  money  is  quite  as  important  as  the  money  itself.  Pay- 
ment of  more  money  than  calls  out  the  best  incentive  is 
quite  as  hurtful  to  sales  effort  as  paying  too  little;  there 
is  actually  such  a  thing  as  paying  salesmen  too  much.  Cer- 
tainly there  is  a  widespread  practice  of  paying  salesmen 
unintelligently.  The  items  of  salesmen's  salaries,  commis- 
sions, bonuses  and  expenses  bulks  very  large — many  think 
too  large — in  the  costs  of  operating  an  average  business. 
Nevertheless,  there  are  many  firms  who,  when  their  sales 
problems  are  analyzed  correctly,  need  nothing  so  much  as 
a  more  liberal  expenditure  of  money  upon  salesmen.  Far 
from  needing  to  hire  cheaper  salesmen,  they  need  to  hire 
better  and  higher-salaried  salesmen;  their  sales  cost  per 
unit  of  merchandise  would  then  be  lessened  instead  of  in- 
creased. 

Other  firms,  on  the  other  hand,  are  paying  too  good 
salaries  for  too  mediocre  work;  are  purchasing  500  sales 
voltage  when  the  job  requires  only  150  voltage.  Standards 
of  payment  have  perhaps  been  set  years  before  when  sell- 
ing was  extremely  difficult,  and  have  never  been  altered  to 
fit  new  conditions. 

138 


METHODS  OP  PAYING  SALESMEN  139 

Again,  the  question  of  the  form  of  payment  raises  many 
problems.  Salesmen  on  salary  alone  tend  to  be  too  easily 
satisfied :  salesmen  on  commission  alone  tend  to  render  lit- 
tle constructive  sales  service.  Constant  argument  with 
salesmen  over  compensation  greatly  lowers  sales  efficiency. 
How  can  these  difficulties  and  problems  best  be  met? 

103.  Relation  of  Compensation  to  Type  of  Man  Required 
and  His  Living  Standards. — There  is  no  purely  mechanical 
or  statistical  method  of  determining  how  much  to  pay  sales- 
men. The  only  practical  method  of  arriving  at  a  result 
concerning  amount  of  compensation  is  to  settle  upon  the 
type  of  salesman  needed  for  the  job — ^the  mentality,  expe- 
rience, sales  effectiveness,  personality  and  general  character 
which  fits  the  work  best — and  then  pay  whatever  is  neces- 
sary to  secure  and  hold  such  men.  It  is  a  short-sighted 
and  absurd  economy  to  endeavor  to  get  first-rate  men  at 
second-rate  compensation.  It  is  frequently  done,  of  course, 
but  it  is  not  a  permanent  economy;  the  saving  is  usually 
lost  with  interest  by  the  increased  "turnover"  of  men. 
Since  it  has  been  figured  that  it  costs  inevitably  from  $350 
to  $1,200  to  hire  and  fire  or  hire  and  lose  a  salesman, 
it  will  readily  be  seen  that  paying  a  sum  to  salesmen  below 
the  standard  which  salesmen  of  that  level  of  ability  gen- 
erally require  to  live  up  to  their  average  normal  standards 
and  a  little  more,  merely  prepares  the  way  soon  to  lose 
the  above  named  cost  of  replacing  a  salesman.  Many  a 
stubborn,  narrow-gauge  salesmanager  lets  a  good  man  go 
and  then  hires  a  salesman  of  less  ability  at  a  higher  com- 
pensation than  would  have  made  the  old  one  content  and 
zestful.    In  addition  he  loses  the  replacement  cost. 

Salesmen  live  to  a  large  extent  on  the  exterior,  so  to 
speak.  In  other  words,  food,  clothing,  comfort  and  ap- 
pearances in  life  are  especially  close  to  their  hearts  and 
spirits.  Therefore,  unless  their  compensation  enables  them 
to  be  in  the  atmosphere  they  like,  living  somewhere  near 


140  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

the  minimum  standards  they  set  for  themselves,  they  are 
not  at  their  best  in  their  work.  It  is  a  very  poor  policy 
to  hire  a  salesman  at  the  lowest  compensation  he  can  be 
induced  to  take  (attempting  to  make  up  for  the  deficiency 
by  promises  of  future  gain).  As  a  rule,  he  makes  another 
connection  as  soon  as  he  becomes  fully  aware  of  the  market 
value  of  his  grade  of  ability. 

There  are  no  national  standards  or  grades;  differences 
in  habit,  custom  and  costs  of  living  in  various  parts  of 
the  country  and  in  various  sizes  of  cities  and  towns,  make 
the  matter  an  individual  one.  It  would  be  no  reliable  or 
safe  guide,  however,  to  take  some  especially  thrifty  sales- 
man as  a  basis  of  comparison ;  for  salesmen  as  a  class  are 
not  markedly  thrifty,  and  live  up  to  their  incomes.  It  is 
an  excellent  idea  for  a  firm  to  make  a  survey  of  the  type 
of  men  it  needs  for  salesmen  and  ascertain  the  cost  of 
living  comfortably  of  that  type  of  man  in  the  community 
he  moves,  remembering  the  peculiar  standards  of  life  of 
salesmen  in  general.  Such  an  investigation,  if  heeded, 
would  go  far  toward  reducing  the  large  "turnover"  of 
salesmen.  The  principles  which  have  been  applied  in  re- 
ducing the  turnover  among  factory  workmen,  apply  equally  fe 
well  to  salesmen;  it  is  distinctly  up  to  the  employer  to  * 
study  the  living  standards  of  his  men  and  provide  stand- 
ards of  compensation  and  treatment  which  will  keep  them 
at  their  best  effectiveness.  There  is  a  subtle  psychology  in 
consciousness  of  receiving  ample,  fair  pay  for  good  work 
which  applies  with  double  force  to  salesmen,  because  of 
the  dependence  of  their  effectiveness  upon  the  spirit  they 
display  day  by  day.  Salesmen  meet  each  other  and  com- 
pare notes  in  hotels  and  trains,  and  latterly  in  clubs  and 
associations,  and  whether  they  are  over-aggressive  or  silent 
with  regard  to  asking  for  more  compensation,  they  feel 
deeply  on  the  subject.  St.  Elmo  Lewis  has  well  said  that 
DO  man  will  Dut  forth  his  best  effort  for  an  ordinary  wage. 


METHODS  OF  PAYING  SALESMEN  141 

It  is  said  of  a  certain  well-known  national  concern  that 
it  is  easy  to  hire  its  salesmen  away.  The  reason  is  simply 
compensation  too  small  for  the  character  of  men  hired.  It 
must  also  be  said,  however,  that  well-known  firms  which 
have  a  reputation  for  training  their  salesmen  well  are  un- 
fortunately subject  to  the  efforts  of  other  firms  to  hire  their 
men  after  they  have  been  trained. 

104.  Salary  or  Commission,  or  Eoth? — This  question  goes 
to  the  heax't  of  the  practical  technique  of  paying  salesmen. 
Properly  considered,  a  salesman  is  not  a  man  who  is  out 
chiefly  to  prolit  through  commissions  only — he  is  an  am- 
bassador of  the  house.  As  such,  he  needs  to  do  many 
things  which  are  not  to  his  individual,  immediate  interest 
from  the  standpoint  of  commissions.  He  glorifies  volume 
of  sales  above  net  profits,  whereas  he  should  do  the  reverse. 
He  must  take  the  same  point  of  view  as  the  house  does — 
that  it  will  be  in  business  five,  ten  and  twenty  years  from 
now  and  should  do  development  work  which  will  ripen 
years  later.  New  accounts  need  to  be  "nursed,"  out  of 
the  way  prospects  called  on  and  small  customers  well 
treated. 

But  the  purely  commission  salesmen,  being  practically 
in  business  for  himself,  knows  that  he  will  probably  not 
be  with  the  house  for  a  very  long  period  of  years  (at  least 
not  in  that  territory),  and  he  very  naturally  skimps  the 
job  and  skims  the  cream.  His  work  is  reduced  from  the 
standard  of  broad  merchandising  called  for  by  modern  sell- 
ing, to  a  mere  booking  of  commodity  orders.  For  this  rea- 
son mainly  (as  well  as  for  the  undesirable  lack  of  complete 
control  and  temperamental  habits  developed  by  straight 
commission  men)  the  commission  only  plan  is,  for  most 
sales  propositions,  out-of-date  and  discredited. 

The  straight  salary  plan,  while  not  so  decidedly  unwise, 
is  also  wrong  in  principle.  Although  it  docs  to  some  de- 
gree make  ambassadors  and  business  developers  out  of  sales- 


142  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

men,  the  tendency  is  too  extreme  in  this  direction,  just  as 
the  straight  commission  plan  is  too  extreme  in  the  other 
direction.  Straight  salary  men  are  too  sure  of  their  in- 
come; too  much  tempted  to  report  progress  and  develop- 
ment rather  than  fight  through  to  a  larger  record  of  actual 
sales. 

"We  have,  therefore,  in  the  salary  and  the  commission 
plans  of  payment,  two  impractical  extremes,  each  with  its 
fatal  defect,  and  each,  nevertheless,  with  its  desirable  ele- 
ment, both  of  which  are  important  to  preserve.  An  obviou& 
improvement  is  a  merging  of  the  two  methods — a  salary- 
and-commission  plan.  Tests  have  shown  that  neither  by 
increasing  commissions  alone  or  increasing  salary  alone  can 
salesmen  be  stimulated  to  greater  achievement  as  definitely 
as  when  a  combination  of  a  minimum  salary  plus  a  com- 
mission is  used.  The  difference  lies  in  the  stimulus  of  the 
plan  of  payment.  A  commission-only  man  often  produces 
less  sales  than  before,  when  his  commission  rate  is  raised. 
The  same  is  true  of  salaried  salesmen.  The  principle  at 
work  here  is  identically  that  which  has  induced  very  well 
paid  miners  and  ship  laborers  during  war  time  to  lay  off 
part  of  the  week  because  the  higher  wages  paid  met  their 
money  desires  after  working  4  or  5  days  instead  of  6. 

105.  Some  Defects  of  the  Salary-and-Commission  Plan. — 
How  complicated  the  whole  subject  of  salesmen's  compen- 
sation is  becomes  apparent  when  we  learn  that  even  the 
common  form  of  salary-and-commission  plan  has  vital  de- 
fects which  must  be  remedied  in  most  instances  before 
something  like  top-notch  efficiency  is  reached.  This  com- 
mon form — payment  of  a  fixed  small  salary,  and  a  rate  of 
commission  on  all  business  secured  (or  on  all  business 
above  a  fixed  minimum) — has  the  vital  defect  that  the  em- 
phasis is  still  too  definitely  upon  volume.  While  the  salary 
does  insure  a  certain  amount  of  development  work,  in 
actual  practice  the  commission  is  still  the  most  glittering 


METHODS  OF  PAYING  SALESMEN         143 

goal,  and  any  contest  or  stimulation  simply  serves  to  more 
or  less  completely  sidetrack  tlie  development  work  for  a 
spectacular  record  of  volume. 

Into  this  situation  live  concerns  have  injected  more  scien- 
tific plans  of  compensation,  plans  which  are  fitted  like  a 
glove  to  the  individual  business,  and  which  are  not  hit- 
and-miss  common  method.  They  have  rejected  the  entire 
idea  of  payment  for  volume  or  even  for  general  develop- 
ment; they  have  adopted  the  principle  of  endeavoring  to 
make  their  salesmen  co-partners  and  co-merchandisers  with 
themselves,  profiting  as  they  profit.  This  again  is  in  line 
with  the  profit-sharing  development  of  the  labor  problem 
in  the  factory ;  difi^erent  only  because  a  salesman 's  part  in 
profit-making  can  be  much  more  exactly  calculated. 

The  salary-and-commission  plan  must  be  added  to,  so 
that  commission  is  paid,  not  for  volume,  but  for  develop- 
ment work  and  greatest  net  profits.  Most  businesses,  even 
if  they  have  but  one  article  at  one  price  to  sell — have 
certain  preferred,  more  economical  methods  of  selling  which 
they  would  like  all  their  salesmen  to  use  more  liberally 
which  increase  the  net.  Upon  these  a  plan  of  compensa- 
tion may  be  based,  rather  than  on  sheer  dollar  volume 
(which  by  its  veiy  narrow  nature  tends  to  keep  the  sales- 
man's vision  narrow). 

106.  Kow  to  Shape  a  Thorough-Going  Plan  of  Compensa* 
tion. — The  foundation  on  which  to  lay  a  just  compensation 
for  salesmen  is  the  territory.  How  many  dollars'  worth 
of  sales  is  it  logically  ' '  good  for, ' '  after  a  careful  survey  ? 
And  how  much  can  or  should  an  average  standard  quality 
salesman  sell  in  it  per  year  ?  How  well  developed  and  how 
expensive  to  travel  is  the  territory' ?  Such  questions  ex- 
plain why  one  salesman  is  rated  good  who  sells  $40,000 
worth  of  goods  annually,  whereas  another  salesman  selling 
another  line  of  goods  sells  $200,000,  and  is  not  regarded  as 
phenomenal.     Both  earn  approximately  the  same  salary — 


144  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

the  difference  lies  in  the  absorptive,  capacity  of  the  terri- 
tory for  that  line  of  goods.  It  is  a  mistake  to  think  the 
difference  is  in  the  man  or  in  the  line  of  goods.  A  sales- 
manager  should  first  think  in  terms  of  the  consumption 
capacity  of  the  territory,  or  else  he  will  not  do  justice 
either  to  a  salesman  or  his  goods. 

Once  the  capacity  and  rate  of  growth  of  the  territory 
is  known,  you  have  a  gauge  on  which  to  register  sales- 
men's efforts.  Also  you  have  the  data  for  a  just  and  ac- 
curate quota,  on  which  to  base  not  only  the  salary  but  a 
bonus.  It  is  generally  agreed  that  a  salesman  who  secures 
80%  of  the  quota  of  sales  allotted  to  his  territory  has 
earned  his  basic  salary;  and  that  whatever  he  achieves 
above  that  should  be  rewarded  by  a  bonus. 

The  practical  procedure  for  fixing  compensation  might 
thus  be: 

Step  1.  "Survey"  your  entire  territory  to  establish  the 
logical  volume  of  business  now  existing  or  that  you  can 
expect  to  develop  each  year  for  the  next  5  or  10  years. 

Step  2.  Analyze  the  cost  of  properly  covering  the  ter- 
ritory, keeping  in  mind  the  general  aims  and  policies  of 
the  firm  and  the  missionary  and  educational  work  it  needs. 

Step  3.  Size  up  the  mentality  and  difficulty  of  the  pros- 
pects and  the  territory,  the  cost  of  traveling,  and  figure 
out  the  type  and  kind  of  salesmen  you  should  have  to 
represent  you  successfully  in  a  constructive  way.  "What 
this  type  of  salesman  needs  as  his  minimum  to  live  upon, 
that  should  be  the  fixed  salary.  Whether  he  earns  it  is 
to  be  judged  by  whether  he  reaches  80%  of  the  quota  set. 

Step  4.  A  commission  rate  to  be  added  to  the  fixed 
salary,  payable  quarterly  or  semi-annually,  based  on  the 
gross  profits  of  the  business  done  in  his  territory.  As  a 
suggestion,  let  us  say  15%  of  the  profit  on  his  volume  of 
sales;  "profit"  meaning  margin  above  operating  cost. 
^.The  more  common  method,  of  course,  is  to  give  a  com- 


METHODS  OP  PAYING  SALESMEN  145 

mission  of  say  5%  on  volume  of  business  above  the  amount 
required  to  earn  salary.  It  is  a  sounder  method  to  base 
commission  on  profits. 

Step  5.  Establish,  as  a  third  element  of  compensation, 
a  bonus  to  be  paid  when  sales  goals  and  quotas  are  at- 
tained. (See  entire  following-  chapter  on  this  subject 
for  details.) 

A  procedure  of  this  sort  has  the  satisfactory  merit  of 
being  thorough  and  just  and  grounded  on  sound  principle 
and  on  fact.  It  supplies  all  the  ideal  elements  of  a  com- 
pensation plan — (1)  it  is  fairly  automatic,  (2)  it  insures 
both  stimulation  for  volume  and  profit  and  for  constructive 
effort,  (3)  it  makes  for  the  right  spirit  of  co-partnership 
in  representation  of  the  house,  (4)  it  is  thoroughly  just 
and  wise. 

107.  Importance  of  Equality  and  XTniformity. — Nothing 
can  so  quickly  destroy  morale  in  a  sales  organization  as  a 
belief  that  some  members  of  a  sales  organization  are  fav- 
ored either  in  salary  or  in  special  privileges,  rates  of  com- 
mission or  ''cinch"  of  any  kind.  Salesmen  know  quite  well 
that  the  aggressive  man  or  the  "good  bluffer"  frequently 
gets  special  favors  and  forces  higher  pay.  A  single,  clear- 
eut  policy,  both  for  salaries  and  commissions,  and  for  ap- 
peals for  ' '  raises ' '  should  be  followed  rigidly.  No  salesman- 
ager  can  afford  to  allow  himself  to  be  "held  up"  by  ag- 
gressive men  who  want  more  salary  or  commission  than 
they  deserve.  Nor  can  any  salesmanager  afford  to  fail 
to  reach  a  man  before  the  man  comes  to  him,  when  that 
man  deserves  a  raise. 

It  should  also  be  a  punctilious  duty  to  see  that  sales- 
men are  paid  with  great  exactitude  and  promptness,  and 
all  they  deserve.  Often  fatal  errors  of  this  sort  are  made 
— in  permitting  salesmen  to  work  under  certain  misun- 
derstandings of  increase  or  terms,  and  then  dispute  or 
argue  the  point  later  on  a  technicality.     It  is  of  great  im- 


146  ]\IODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

portance  that  all  compensation  arrangements  be  made  un- 
mistakably clear  in  a  memorandum  if  not  a  contract.  A 
dispute  over  compensation  takes  the  life  out  of  a  salesman ; 
and  being  volatile  and  more  or  less  temperamental,  he  is 
more  likely  than  not  to  fail  to  understand  a  memorandum 
or  contract  too  full  of  ifs  and  buts  or  long  phrases. 

One  of  the  commonest  forms  of  inequality  and  injustice 
is  to  "welch"  or  a  promise  of  pay  when  the  success  is  be- 
yond expectation.  Some  salesmanagers  and  owners  hate 
to  see  salesmen  make  a  lot  of  money,  quite  failing  to  ap- 
preciate that  the  salesmen  can't  make  money  unless  the 
house  gets  its  allotted  share,  and  that  "a  piece  of  luck" 
or  a  streak  of  success  may  be  the  stimulation  to  tide  sales- 
men over  a  correspondingly  dull  period. 

Giving  a  salesman  a  "piece  of  pie"  in  the  shape  of  credit 
for  sales  he  did  not  personally  make  also  irritates  some 
narrow  minded  executives.  It  must  be  appreciated  that 
willingness  to  hew  rigidly  to  the  line  of  an  agreement  or 
promise,  no  matter  on  whose  side  the  chips  fall,  is  an  abso- 
lutely essential  idea  to  fix  in  salesmen's  minds  if  their 
spirits  are  to  be  kept  up. 

108.  Plan  for  Automatic  Salary  Raises. — Knowing  how 
detrimental  to  esprit  de  corps  are  arguments  over  increase 
in  salary,  several  very  interesting  plans  for  such  raises  to 
operate  automatically  have  been  planned  and  are  working 
with  success.  With  such  an  arrangement  a  salesmen's 
basic  salary  (and  quota  for  earning  it  under  the  plan 
described  above)  readjusts  itself  without  a  word  of  con- 
sultation each  January  1st. 

The  plan  provides  that  in  return  for  a  certain  salary 
first  agreed  upon  with  a  new  salesman,  his  sales  shall 
amount  to  ten  times  the  amount  of  salary  received,  and 
that  a  fixed  commission  will  be  paid  on  all  net  sales  over 
and  above  this  minimum  amount ;  that  the  salary  and  the 
commission  earnings  of  the  salesman  for  the  first  year  will 


METHODS  OF  PAYING  SALESMEN  147 

be  considered  his  salary  for  the  second  year.  Thus  his 
maximum  sales  for  tlie  first  j^ear  become  the  minimum 
amount  of  sales  for  second  year,  over  and  above  which 
minimum  amount  he  receives  the  same  fixed  commission. 
I  This  automatically  insures  the  salesman  being  compen- 
sated for  any  extra  effort  he  may  put  forth  which  has 
increased  his  sales,  the  commission  being  fixed  at  from  25^ 
to  50%  of  the  percentage  of  cost  of  the  salesman's  salarj' 
to  sales,  having  in  mind  that  the  per  cent  of  commission 
adopted  is  sufficient  to  insure  a  reasonable  increase  in  his 
salary,  and  the  more  commission  a  salesman  earns,  the 
more  it  cuts  down  his  selling  expense. 

109.  Crediting  Itlail  Sales  and  TlncoUectable  Accounts, — 
Controversies  are  continually  arising  over  mail  orders  and 
their  proper  crediting.  There  are  many  firms  which  feel 
that  their  good  will  and  their  general  activities  should  en- 
title the  house  to  be  regarded  as  being  a  salesman,  and 
have  at  least  some  part  of  mail  orders  and  personal  sales 
by  executives  credited  thereto.  This  idea  has  its  logic,  but 
from  a  purely  human  standpoint  it  is  dangerous — such 
sales  are  sometimes  in  competition  with  salesmen's  efforts 
and  the  mere  knowledge  that  the  house  takes  credit  to 
itself  is  an  irritant  to  salesmen,  certain  in  one  case  or  an- 
other sometime  to  be  discouraging.  Customers  are  natur- 
ally not  often  thoughtful  enough  to  request  that  the  sale 
be  credited  to  a  specific  salesman.  The  only  solution  is 
to  make  an  individual  judgment  based  on  an  individual 
case;  the  rule  to  follow  being  to  show  full  and  adequate 
cause  why  mail  orders  should  not  be  credited  to  salesman, 
rather  than  starting  with  the  reverse  assumption.  Some 
concerns  find  it  an  excellent  plan  to  require  salesmen  to 
divide  commissions  on  business  closed  with  the  assistance  of 
the  manager. 

As  for  uneollectable  accounts,  salesmen  in  the  average 
business  house  should  be  penalized  for  bad  accounts,  either 


us  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

by  forfeiting  that  portion  of  the  profit  on  an  imcollectable 
account,  which  would  have  been  theirs  had  the  account  been 
a  good  one — or  by  a  percentage  penalty  based  on  the  size 
of  the  loss.  In  theory,  credit  considerations  are  strictly 
up  to  a  firm,  which  should  instruct  salesmen  carefully  as 
to  credit  requirements,  and  accept  or  reject  on  its  own  re- 
sponsibility such  business  as  the  salesman  turns  in.  This 
quite  correct  theory  removes  blame  from  the  salesman, 
whereas  from  a  practical  standpoint  the  salesman  having 
personal  contact  with  the  customer,  must  be  regarded  as 
a  credit  judge  also.  The  positive  plan  of  offering  bonuses 
for  salesmen  having  the  least  credit  losses  is  better  than 
mere  negative  penalities,  however. 

110.  "Drawing  Accounts." — This  is  one  of  the  anomalies 
of  selling.  A  drawing  account  is,  in  fact,  a  salary  with  or 
without  a  quota  provision,  and  is  preferably  called  so, 
as  there  are  psychological  factors  in  the  phrase  "drawing 
account"  which  are  seductive  and  wrong.  It  is  a  fact  well 
kno\vn  that  large  numbers  of  dishonest  men  engage  them- 
selves simultaneously  to  a  number  of  firms  to  sell  goods 
on  drawing  account,  and  employ  themselves  not  in  sell- 
ing goods,  but  in  keeping  up  the  bluff  as  long  as  possible — 
drawing  pay  from  a  number  of  sources  at  once. 

Money  paid  to  salesmen  should  not  be  in  any  form  but 
salary,  commission  or  bonus — otherwise  it  has  a  wrong 
mental  effect.  It  is  exacttly  like  borrowing*  money  to 
get  an  advance  on  commissions  in  the  form  of  a  drawing 
account.  Large  sums  of  such  money  are  charged  off  con- 
stantly when  men  fail  to  reach  their  drawing  debts  with 
their  commissions  and  are  discharged,  to  all  appearances  in 
debt.  This,  to  a  good  man  who  may  have  rendered  full 
value  for  the  money  in  development  work,  is  galling  and 
humiliating.  The  supposed  stimulus  toward  measuring  up 
to  the  drawing  account  does  not  work. 

It  is  a  far  better  plan  to  make  the  arrangement  both 


METHODS  OF  PAYING  SALESMEN  149 

more  definite  and  more  self-respecting  by  naming  a  salary- 
based  on  a  specific  quota,  no  commission  to  be  paid  until 
the  quota  is  earned,  and  a  definite  time  fixed  in  which  to 
make  good. 

Of  course,  with  certain  lines  of  business  using  very  high 
class  of  salesmen,  the  drawing  account  method  has  a  few 
advantages,  such  as  keeping  the  arrangement  centered  on 
a  commission  basis.  But  even  in  such  cases  there  can 
be  a  principle  laid  down  of  basic  selling  cost  percentage 
which  operates  virtually  like  a  commission,  but  utilizes 
the  basic  salary  idea  nevertheless. 

111.  Handling  Compensation  of  Juniors. — The  same  prin- 
ciples apply  to  juniors  as  to  seniors — they  should  receive 
salary,  commission  and  bonus.  The  method  used  by  one 
firm  is  to  allow  juniors  to  such  salesmen  only  who  have 
brought  down  their  selling  expense  to  a  15%  basis  by 
reason  of  its  volume.  This  automatically  weeds  out  re- 
quests for  juniors  where  they  are  not  supportable. 

A  fifty-fifty  division  of  commissions  is  the  best  method 
of  dividing  earnings  between  junior  and  senior. 

112.  The  "Piece  Work,"  or  "Task  and  Bonus"  Idea  in 
Selling. — The  application  of  the  principle  of  scientific  man- 
agement to  a  sales  organization  is  undergoing  a  test  in 
several  large  organizations,  but  the  method  is  so  new  and 
radical  that  its  efficiency  is  not  yet  thoroughly  authenti- 
cated. The  idea  is  to  subdivide  the  work  of  selling  into 
minute  separate  items  (corresponding  with  motions  in 
shop  work),  such  as  a  call  on  a  customer  without 
finding  him  in,  a  demonstration  of  the  article,  etc.  Each 
of  these  separate  items  of  work  have  standard  prices  or 
salary  rates  attached,  so  that  a  salesman's  daily  work 
becomes  an  itemized  account  of  separate  pieces  of  work 
done  for  which  he  is  credited  specific  sums.  His  salary 
is  thus  simply  an  accumulation  of  the  piece  work  items. 

For  instance,  in  one  organization,  10  cents  each  is  paid 


150  ]\IODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

for  canvass  calls,  5  cents  each  for  repeat  calls  and  25  cents 
each  for  demonstrations.  On  this  plan  a  man  can  earn  his 
minimum  salary  or  drawing  account  without  making  a 
single  sale.  In  cases  where  this  plan  has  been  applied  it 
has  resulted  in  almost  doubling  the  number  of  calls  and 
demonstrations.  A  higher  rate  is  paid,  under  this  sys- 
tem, for  new  calls,  and  for  prospects  on  whom  no  calls 
have  been  made  for  90  days.  The  system  also  involves 
the  checking  up  of  the  salesmen's  reports  at  irregular 
intervals,  not  only  to  test  his  honesty,  but  to  locate  weak- 
nesses in  his  work.  Salesmen  make  a  complete  report 
every  day. 

The  bonus  part  of  this  plan  is  based  on  the  amount  of 
profit  the  company  makes  on  the  sale.  When  a  salesman's 
earnings  from  "tasks"  bear  a  higher  relation  to  his  bonus 
earnings  than  the  average,  then  an  inspector  is  placed  on 
the  job  to  study  the  man's  work. 

Salesmen  make  more  money  under  this  plan  than  under 
old  systems  and  when  properly  operated  are  well  satis- 
fied with  it. 

This  plan  is  sound  in  principle  for  organizations  re- 
quiring an  average  or  below-average  type  of  sales  work 
of  a  more  or  less  routine  nature,  but  its  value  for  the 
higher  grades  of  sales  work  is  as  yet  not  proved. 


CHAPTER  Xiy 

PEIZE,  BONUS  AND  STIMULATION  PLANS  FOR  SALESMEN 

113.  The  Basic  Need  for  Stimulation — The  very  qualities 
which  make  good  salesmen  are  qualities  demanding  special 
stimulation  and  constant  encouragement. 

A  salesman  is  more  in  need  of  full-powered  incentives 
to  work  than  perhaps  any  other  type  of  worker,  because 
unlike  most  other  workers,  he  does  his  work  away  from 
both  his  superiors  and  his  companions.  Most  other  rou- 
tine labor  is  done  in  groups,  where  the  group  stimulation 
is  constantly  present  to  hold  a  man  to  his  work,  in  order 
to  keep  the  respect  of  his  fellow  laborers.  In  addition, 
the  mere  presence  and  proximity  of  his  superiors  is  a 
stimulation. 

The  salesman,  unfortunately,  is  a  lone  worker,  and  to 
m-ake  matters  more  difficult  still  he  faces  these  conditions: 

1.  He  is  away  from  familiar  surroundings. 

2.  He  is  not  doing  mechanical  labor  which  responds 
automatically  to  his  efforts  according  to  fixed  laws. 

3.  He  is  in  a  semi-hostile  atmosphere,  dependent  on 
the  personal  feelings  and  idiosyncrasies  of  a  motley  lot 
of  customers  and  prospects. 

4.  He  is  obliged  to  throw  a  great  deal  of  high  tension 
nervous  and  mental  energy  into  his  work,  bringing  a 
natural  reaction,  relaxation  and  tire  which  affects  his 
spirits  adversely  for  a  time. 

5.  He  is  at  such  long  range  from  his  employer  that  it 
is  easy  for  him  to  imagine  indifference,  hostility,  neglect 
and  stupidity  in  the  home  office  attitude. 

151 


152  MODERN  SALES^IANAGEMENT 

6.  He  is  subjected  to  the  depressing  physical  strains 
and  buffets  of  travel. 

For  these  and  other  reasons  the  salesman  has  a  very- 
decided  need  for  stimulations.  Dr,  Elliott,  ex-president  of 
Harvard  University,  once  said  that  all  men  required  the 
basic  stimulations  of  Love,  Loyalty,  Ambition  and  Hope, 
to  do  their  best.  The  salesman  apparently  needs  about 
twice  as  much  stimulation  of  these  sorts  to  "keep  him 
on  his  toes."  It  is  only  an  utterly  ignorant  salesmanager 
who  gives  little  or  no  care  to  the  incentives  which  control 
his  salesmen. 

114.  Differences  Between  Staple  and  Specialty  Salesmen. — 
At  one  time  it  was  widely  believed  that  salesmen  of  staples, 
such  as  coffee,  sugar,  flour,  etc.,  needed  no  special  stimu- 
lation plans;  that  only  specialty  salesmen  (for  adding  ma- 
chines, dictaphones,  etc.)  needed  contest,  bonus,  and  other 
forms  of  stimulations. 

But  with  clearer  understanding  of  selling  and  wider 
application  of  salesmauagement  brains,  it  has  become  clear 
that  the  distinction  between  staple  and  specialty  is  not  so 
great  after  all.  Furthermore,  the  tendency  in  the  plan- 
ning of  merchandise  has  been  to  make  more  of  a  specialty 
out  of  staples,  while  of  course  good  specialties  tend  con- 
stantly to  become  staples.  Coffee  and  sugar  are  to-day 
trade-marked  and  sold  like  specialties;  while  adding  ma- 
chines, typewriters,  etc.,  have  become  more  like  staple 
necessities. 

There  is  no  reason  why  identically  the  same  principles 
■of  stimulations  should  not  apply  to  salesmen  for  specialty 
or  staple.  The  need  is  only  for  expert  skill  in  adjusting 
the  plan  to  the  individual  situation.  It  is  more  impor- 
tant in  adopting  stimulation  plans  to  study  the  type  of 
salesmen  and  customers,  the  territory  and  the  manner  of 
selling  than  it  is  to  study  the  type  of  product. 

115.  The  Various  Forms  of  Stimidation  to  Choose  From. — 


PRIZE,  BONUS  AND  STIMULATION  PLANS    153 

Stimulations  are,  of  course,  many  and  varied  in  form  and 
method  of  application.  It  is  frequently  advisable  to  ro- 
tate in  their  use,  or  to  use  a  number  of  kinds  at  once. 
No  rule  of  thumb  can  be  laid  down,  any  more  than  can 
medicine  be  prescribed  for  all  types  of  patients. 

Broadly  speaking,  the  following  list  of  stimulation  meth- 
ods available  cover  the  field  weU. 


1. 

Quota  systems. 

8. 

Game  plays. 

2. 

Point  systems. 

9. 

Promotions. 

3. 

Honor  clubs. 

10. 

Bonuses. 

4. 

House  bulletins. 

11. 

Special  honors  or  trips* 

5. 

Letters    from    high    ex- 

12. 

Profit  sharing  or  stock 

ecutives. 

participations. 

6. 

Special  prizes. 

Conventions  and  sales  conferences  are,  of  course,  stimu- 
lations of  the  highest  order,  but  are  a  separate  subject, 
treated  in  the  chapter  following. 

Just  how  to  choose  from  among  the  stimulations  avail- 
able, constitutes  the  technique  of  the  profession  of  sales- 
management.  Diagnosis  of  the  individual  case,  and  pre- 
scription for  its  individual  needs  can  be  the  only  logical 
method  to  use.  Any  other  method  is  a  self-doctoring 
quackery,  done  at  great  risk.  Knowledge  of  the  value  and 
limitation  of  each  method  and  of  its  fitness  or  unfitness  for 
this  or  that  condition  is  necessary  before  it  is  wise  to  make 
a  decision. 

The  facts  required  to  reach  such  a  decision  about  a  busi- 
ness are: 

1.  Type  of  salesman  used. 

2.  Character  of  prospects  canvassed. 

3.  Type  of  product. 

4.  Variety,  scope  and  relationship  to  profit  of  items 
sold. 


154  ]\10DERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

5.  Size  and  character  of  territory. 

6.  Method  of  paying  salesmen. 

116.  Some  Typical  Bonus  and  Contest  Plans.. — There  are 
almost  as  many  forms  of  bonus  as  brands  of  tobacco. 
IMost  of  these  are  adopted  as  experiments  and  there  is  much 
change  constantly  in  method  and  plan.  The  plans  de- 
scribed herewith  are  simply  plans  which  are  ingenious  or 
novel.  They  all  suffer  from  lack  of  exactitude  in  their 
application  and  effect,  but  are  good  workable  plans  as  far 
as  they  go. 

1.  Giving  1%  of  the  annual  increase  over  a  fixed 
amount  to  branch  managers,  limiting  it  to  10%  of  total 
salary  received  in  any  one  year. 

2.  Operating  a  club  such  as  "100%,"  "  Top-Notchers, " 
etc.;  open  to  salesmen  doing  110%  of  their  quota  during 
any  4  months  of  the  year.  If  he  repeats,  a  bar  is  added 
to  his  badge. 

3.  Staging  a  special  sales  drive  with  an  attractive  name 
such  as  "The  Get  a  Million  Drive." 

4.  Holding  a  convention  open  only  to  those  who  have 
made  100%  of  their  quota;  and  another  separate  conven- 
tion of  those  who  have  made  80%. 

5.  Holding  a  sheer  volume  competition,  separating 
salesmen  into  groups  according  to  volume  sold,  and  offer- 
ing merchandise  prizes  for  4  or  5  winners  in  each  group. 

6.  Offering  a  bonus  of  say  21^  upon  total  amount  of 
sales  made  in  excess  of  previous  record. 

7.  Taking  year's  profts  as  basis,  marking  it  100%,  and 
giving  a  bonus  to  those  having  the  highest  percentage  of 
increase  over  100%. 

8.  Pitting  different  divisions  or  groups,  or  even  indi- 
vidual cities  against  each  other,  based  on  a  quota  set  for 
each. 

9.  Basing  bonus  entirely  on  profit;  giving  no  bonus  to 


PRIZE,  BONUS  AND  STIMULATION  PLANS    155 

salesmen  not  increasing  profits,  but  setting  quotas  of  profit 
for  each  salesman  to  reach. 

10.  Special  short-term  contest — to  make  August  a  red 
letter  month,  for  example ;  giving  a  suit  of  clothes  to  every 
salesman  averaging  a  fixed  number  of  units  or  dollars 
sold  in  that  month. 

11.  Allowing  an  extra  1  or  2%  on  all  sales  during  cer- 
tain months. 

12.  Offering  a  merchandise  or  money  prize,  to  be  pre- 
sented, not  to  the  salesman,  but  to  his  wife. 

117.  Honor  Alone  as  Stimulation  and  Incentive. — It  is 
human  nature  to  desire  distinction.  Salesmen  are  particu- 
larly inclined  in  this  direction  because  of  their  social  tem- 
perament. 

Honor  marks  vary  all  the  way  from  the  simple  mention 
of  the  salesman's  name  on  a  blackboard  or  in  bulletins  or 
house  organs,  to  the  award  of  badge  or  membership  in 
a  special  "Club"  like  the  N3dic  Club  of  the  New  York 
Life  Insurance  Company.  (This  organization  is  composed 
of  salesmen  who  make  a  high  score,  and  are  shown  special 
favors   and  honors   by   the   officers   of  the    Company). 

Ranking  lists  in  house  organs,  bulletins,  blackboards; 
use  of  photographs,  special  selection  for  trips,  even  public 
honoring  with  a  seat  next  to  the  head  of  the  house — all 
come  under  this  head  and  are  of  great  importance.  Honor 
prizes  are  sometimes  the  only  prizes  advisable  to  use,  with 
very  low  or  very  high  types  of  salesmen. 

In  some  cases,  where  the  type  of  salesman  is  not  of  the 
highest  grade,  very  primitive  methods  are  successful.  A 
typewriter  firm  adopted  the  plan  of  sending  each  salesman 
a  green  ticket  for  every  $100  unit  of  sale.  If  a  day 
passes  without  a  sale  coming  from  the  salesman  he  is 
sent  a  blue  ticket.  If  three  blue  tickets  are  sent  in  suc- 
cession then  a  yellow  ticket  is  sent,  but  if  the  salesman 
exceeds  his  quota  for  the  month,  he  can  send  a  sale  and 


156  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

three  yellow  tickets  in  exchange  for  two  green  ones.  This 
is  identical  Avith  an  old-time  plan  used  in  Sunday  schools  to 
stimulate  attendance. 

Needless  to  say,  honor  as  reward  is  a  delicate  thing  to 
handle  with  salesmen  of  a  higher  grade,  as  they  are  more 
sophisticated  and  balanced,  and  therefore  less  moved  by 
ceremony  and  praise.  Being  better  business  men,  their 
incentive  is  more  toward  promotion  and  money  reward. 

118.  Merchandise  as  Reward. — Merchandise  is  found  to 
be  highly  prized,  if  prizes  are  to  be  given,  because  mer- 
chandise is  usually  valued  at  more  than  its  real  money 
cost.  A  handsome  traveling  bag  filled  with  compart- 
ments and  special  fittings  and  traveling  comforts,  looks 
better  than  the  three  $5  bills  or  two  $10  bills  it  costs.  It 
looks  better  to  the  salesman,  because  he  can  carry  it  proudly 
and  when  someone  asks  him  where  he  got  it,  he  can  throw 
out  his  chest  and  tell  about  it. 

The  very  highest  type  of  salesman  naturally  appreciates 
best,  cash  prizes,  and  is  much  less  amenable  to  mere  honor 
reward  unless  the  financial  side  of  reward  is  thoroughly 
satisfactory  to  him.  This  makes  the  subject  closely  re- 
lated to  that  of  method  of  paying  a  salesman. 

Generally  speaking,  all  salesmen  prefer  a  cash  prize. 
But  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  house  a  prize  in  mer- 
chandise is  often  preferable.  The  value  looks  bigger,  the 
impression  lasts  longer,  for  the  article,  if  properly  selected, 
will  act  as  a  constant  reminder. 

The  following  facts  should  be  given  consideration  in  the 
selection  and  presentation  of  any  merchandise  prize: 

1.  Give  something  that  the  salesman  can  use  constantly 
— thus  reminding  him  of  your  appreciation. 

2.  Give  something  that  he  can  show  to  other  people, 
acquainting  them  with  the  fact  that  it  is  an  honor  mark 
for  length  of  service  or  leadership  in  sales  and  something 


PRIZE,  BONUS  AND  STIMULATION  PLANS    157 

whicli  he  can  be  proud  of,  all  of  which  will  have  a  tendency 
to  increase  his  enthusiasm, 

3.  Give  something  useful.  Base  the  selection  of  your 
gift  on  a  knowledge  of  his  tastes  and  needs.  If  he  is 
married  and  enjoys  his  home  life,  a  gift  that  his  family 
can  enjoy  will  serve  to  increase  his  own  appreciation. 

4.  The  gift  should  be  presented  with  words  of  com- 
mendation indicating  that  it  is  a  pleasure  to  bestow  the 
prize. 

5.  The  award  should  be  made  known  as  widely  as  pos- 
sible within  the  organization,  so  as  to  encourage  others. 

Prizes  of  a  simple  kind,  such  as  a  specific  article  of 
merchandise  or  sum  of  money  or  honor,  are  the  crude 
forms  of  scientific  stimulation.  A  house  may  simply  offer 
a  traveling  bag  to  any  salesman  who  sells  a  certain  set 
amount  of  goods  over  his  last  year's  effort.  Or  it  may 
give  an  automobile  to  the  salesman  who  sells  the  highest 
percentage  of  increase  over  last  year's  effort. 

But  at  once  we  get  into  the  delicate  and  intricate  nature 
of  the  subject,  because  on  the  one  hand  such  a  crude  prize 
contest  may  discourage  rather  than  encourage  the  rank 
and  file  of  salesmen  of  average  ability  or  on  the  other  hand 
may  be  detrimental  to  the  aims  of  the  house  because  it 
tempts  salesmen  to  oversell  or  push  for  volume  unwisely, 

119.  The  Guota  Plan. — A  quota  is  the  standard  of  sales 
set  for  individuals,  goods  or  territory,  established  after  a 
study  of  all  the  factors  bearing  on  the  case.  The  method 
is  simply  a  fixing  of  a  goal  for  each  salesman,  with  a  re- 
ward for  reaching  it. 

Such  a  "standard  of  performance"  gives  the  salesman 
a  definite  goal  to  reach — an  effective  stimulant  for  greater 
effort. 

With  seasonal  or  fashion  goods,  the  time  unit  should 
be  the  season.  With  articles  of  steady  consumption,  such 
as  food,  stationery,  etc.,  the  period  may  extend  over  a 


158  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

year,  or  be  subdivided  monthly.  "WTien  the  articles  sold 
are  all  of  the  same  price,  the  quota  may  be  simply  in  units. 
Where  tliere  is  a  difference  in  price,  which  is  the  general 
case,  the  quota  is  based  on  the  money  amount  of  the  sales 
possible  in  that  territory.  This  permits  a  comparison  of 
sales  performances  in  territories  of  unequal  opportunities. 

The  "quota"  unit  of  the  National  Cash  Register  Co.  is 
$25  which  is  called  "one  point."  Their  famous  or- 
ganization of  salesmen,  known  as  the  "Hundred  Point 
Ciub, "  is  composed  of  salesmen  who  have  achieved  one 
hundred  points,  or  $2,500  worth  of  sales  in  a  month. 

To  equalize  the  standards  of  performance  for  unequal 
territories,  or  for  goods  which  it  is  especially  desired  to 
push,  it  is  generally  the  practice  to  lower  either  the  amount 
of  the  sale,  that  constitutes  a  "point"  for  the  less  produc- 
tive territory,  or  penalize  by  the  point  system  the  less  de- 
sirable goods.  (See  later  chapter  for  detail  about  Point 
System.)  For  example,  let  us  assume  a  sales  organiza- 
tion with  two  territories:  Territory  A,  the  country  East, 
and  Territory  B,  the  country  West  of  the  Mississippi. 
The  latter  contains  only  20%  of  the  total  population;  so 
ttiat  it  can  hardly  be  expected  to  furnish  more  than  20% 
of  the  total  sales. 

Or,  if  in  one  territory  there  are,  say  1,000  prospects 
with  an  estimated  average  sale  of  $200  to  each,  and  in 
the  second  territory  there  are  only  100  prospects  with  an 
estimated  average  sale  of  $300  to  each,  the  ratio  of  the 
quotas  may  be  established  either  on  the  basis  of  $200  to 
$300  or  on  the  basis  of  1,000  to  100  prospects. 

After  a  fair  quota  has  been  set  for  each  salesman's  ter- 
ritory, based  let  us  say  on  80%  of  the  immediate  logical 
prospects  and  their  logical  purchases,  then  you  have  auto- 
matically a  contest  basis  for  any  prize  you  may  decide 
upon. 

To  guard  against  the  tendency  of  the  salesman  to  over- 


PRIZE,  BONUS  AND  STIMULATION  PLANS    159 

load  customers  in  order  to  make  a  big  showing,  some 
firms  make  it  a  practice  to  establish  also  a  quota  for  each 
class  of  customer,  based  upon  the  size  of  the  stock  or  the 
amount  of  credit  which  the  firm  is  willing  to  allow  that 
class  of  retailer.  The  salesman  is  not  expected  to  take  an 
order  from  the  customer  for  more  than  the  limit  of  that 
class. 

120.  Sound  Principles  for  Operating  Contests. — Any  and 
all  sales  contests  of  whatever  nature  on  whatever  plan,  for 
whatever  prize,  should  be  guided  bj  the  practical  consid- 
erations which  rule  any  group  of  salesmen  in  contest. 
Contests  are  often  failures  in  one  respect  or  another,  or  in 
some  degree  or  other,  solely  because  simple  principles  such 
as  the  following  are  violated : 

1.  A  sales  contest  is  of  little  value  unless  it  stimulates 
all  salesmen,  including  "the  tail-enders. "  Set  a  goal  that 
every  salesman  feels  he  can  reach.  Since  there  is  a  wide 
difference  between  the  showing  of  some  salesmen,  matters 
should  be  equalized  by  putting  them  in  different  classes, 
as  determined  by  the  quota  plan.  For  example,  Class  A 
must  compete  for  a  minmum  quota  of  3,000  points ;  Class 
B  for  a  minimum  quota  of  2,000  points;  Class  C  for  a 
minimum  quota  of  1,200  points. 

2.  Hold  or  start  the  contest  at  a  period  of  the  year  when 
the  conditions  are  not  discouraging;  otherwise  lack  of  re^ 
suits  will  militate  against  the  plan. 

3.  Do  not  dull  the  edge  of  interest  in  contests  by  hold- 
ing them  too  frequently.  It  has  been  found  best  to  have 
an  interval  of  at  least  two  months  between  contests. 

4.  A  similar  loss  of  interest  is  apt  to  occur  when  the 
contests  are  strung  out  too  long,  or  made  too  short  for 
thorough  work.  From  one  month  to  three  months  is  gen- 
erally conceded  to  be  a  practical  period  for  intensified 
selling. 

5.  Have  everything  thought  out  thoroughly  beforehand, 


160  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

so  tliat  it  will  not  be  necessary  to  change  conditions  or 
schedules,  which  has  the  same  effect  as  putting  a  brake  on 
a  running  wheel.  This  information  should  be  in  the  hands 
of  everybody  concerned  in  ample  time  so  that  the  sales- 
men can  study  out  their  plans  of  procedure. 

6.  Launch  the  plan  with  all  the  enthusiasm  possible; 
for  example,  at  the  annual  convention  of  the  sales  staff. 
Put  the  same  enthusiasm  in  the  printed  or  typewritten 
bulletins,  which  should  be  issued  every  week  so  as  to  main- 
tain the  interest.  They  should  feature  the  progress  made 
by  the  leaders  in  the  race,  give  inspiring  reasons  why  they 
lead  and  encouragement  to  the  laggards. 

7.  Assist  the  laggards  so  they  may  become  more  effi- 
cient or  appeal  to  their  personal  pride  to  become  more  in- 
dustrious. 

8.  Enlist  the  interest  and  cooperation  of  the  executives. 
If  possible,  offer  a  special  "President's  trophy"  or  a 
"General  Manager's  trophy."    This  is  an  additional  spur. 

9.  It  has  been  found  advantageous  ofttimes  to  utilize 
the  team  spirit  by  offering  additional  prizes  for  the  total 
showing  made  by  each  territory,  or  a  given  group  of  sales- 
men who  come  in  personal  contact  with  each  other.  The 
result  will  be  that  they  will  mutually  stimulate  each  other 
in  order  to  win  the  "team  prize"  in  addition  to  individual 
prizes. 

121.  Peculiar  Types  of  Contests. — Odd  and  special  con- 
tests have  merit  sometimes  in  single  and  special  cases. 

A  good  instance  is  that  of  a  $20  ring,  which  was 
offered  by  a  certain  salesmanager.  He  made  known  only 
two  conditions  of  the  contest,  which  were  volume  and  rate 
of  increase.  The  other  three  conditions  were  not  to  be  re- 
vealed until  the  prize  was  awarded.  It  was  simply  stated 
that  they  had  something  to  do  with  the  more  desirable 
kinds  of  business,  and  the  salesmen  were  left  to  infer  as 
;best  they  might  on  what  basis  the  ring  would  be  awarded. 


PRIZE,  BONUS  AND  STIMULATION  PLANS    161 

Observe,  however,  that  in  this  particular  company  the 
esprit  de  corps  had  been  developed  to  such  an  extraor- 
dinarily high  pitch  that  as  an  incentive  the  value  of  the 
ring  was  far  inferior  to  the  honor  connected  with  it. 

This  idea  is  further  illustrated  by  a  third  plan  used  by 
this  company.  The  seven  sections  of  a  certain  district  were 
pitted  against  each  other  in  securing  a  quota. 

Still  another  plan  was  started  among  the  salesmen  them- 
selves. This  was  to  celebrate  the  salesmanager 's  anniver< 
sary  by  a  special  drive  for  orders.  A  keen  spirit  of  rivalry 
naturally  developed  in  the  course  of  this  kind  of  a  cele- 
bration. 

Still  another  plan  is  one  to  offer  a  special  dinner  to  the 
"Big  Ten"  salesmen  who  reached  the  highest  number 
of  sales  above  their  quota. 

122.  Bulletins,  Letters,  House  Organs  as  Stimulators. — It 
is  of  first  importance  to  realize  that  salesmen  must  be 
kept  in  live  communication  with  the  house  while  on  the 
road.  It  sometimes  puzzles  salesmanagers  to  understand 
why  the  ordinary  routine  letter  often  actually  depresses 
a  salesman.  It  seems  cool  and  aloof.  A  careless  phrase 
may  make  a  salesman  "see  red";  the  same  phrase  which 
when  spoken  would  be  entirely  acceptable. 

Letters  are  an  important  link  in  the  chain  of  stimula- 
tion. Personal  letters  from  the  salesmanager,  not  too  obvi- 
ously "doped"  with  "ginger"  and  "pep,"  but  intelli- 
gently optimistic,  with  a  tone  of  confidence  in  the  sales- 
man, are  vital.  "When  letters  cannot  be  personal  they  may 
take  the  form  of  printed  or  mimeographed  bulletins. 
Many  clever  forms  of  these  are  extant,  from  large  8-sheet 
printed  bulletins  in  colors,  giving  every  sort  of  news,  in- 
cluding the  standing  of  salesmen,  and  the  photographs  of 
the  "top-notchers. "  These  bulletins  or  house  organs  are 
often  sent  to  the  homes  of  salesmen,  with  the  distinct  idea 
of  having  the  wife  note  her  husband's  standing. 


162  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

It  is  dangerous  to  attempt  bulletins  or  house  organs 
with  salesmen  unless  provision  is  made  for  its  careful  edit- 
ing up  to  a  high  standard.  Salesmen  are  blase  and  hyper- 
critical, and  unless  the  thing  "hits  them  where  they  live" 
and  deftly  touches  the  spot  where  they  are  amenable  to 
stimulation  they  will  be  adversely  rather  than  favorably 
affected.  There  is  a  growing  distaste  among  salesmen  for 
the  language  of  stimulation  which  used  to  be  popular. 
Bombast  and  so-called  snappy,  do-it-or-die  language  is  out 
of  date. 

One  method  which  should  never  be  overlooked  is  regu- 
lar communication  with  the  head  of  the  house  to  his  sales- 
men. There  is  great  stimulation,  especially  in  a  large 
business,  or  one  where  the  head  of  the  house  is  an  admired 
personage,  in  a  communication  from  "the  man  at  the  top" 
— "the  big  boss."  A  good  salesmanager  will  make  effec- 
tive use  of  this  lever  of  stimulation,  and  "stage"  the  head 
of  the  business  in  such  a  way  as  to  insure  top-notch  stimu- 
lation. A  personally  signed  letter  is  a  splendid  idea,- 
next  to  that,  a  printed  communication  signed  in  fac-simile. 

123.  Stock  Participation  and  Profit-Sharing. — Although 
more  or  less  novel,  the  idea  of  profit  sharing  is  naturally 
extended  to  salesmen  in  such  concerns  which  operate  gen- 
eral profit  sharing  systems  for  all  employees.  A  profit 
sharing  plan  which  is  universal  with  all  employees,  does 
little  to  especially  stimulate  salesmen. 

The  same  is  true  of  stock  participation  (which  as  a 
method  applicable  for  all  employees  in  a  business  is  dis- 
credited). Unless  under  unusual  circumstances,  stock  par- 
ticipation is  an  unwise  method  of  stimulating  salesmen. 
They  are  not  financiers,  and  often  become  dissatisfied — 
sometimes  at  a  time  when  the  business  needs  their  best 
efforts. 

Salesmen  need  more  direct  methods  of  stimulation  than 
a'^y  general  plan  of  profit  sharing  or  stock  participation. 


PRIZE,  BONUS  AND  STIMULATION  PLANS     163 

124.  Utilizing  the  Game  Instinct. — There  is  no  stronger 
instinct  in  American  men  than  the  instinct  to  play  a 
game.  Relating  work  to  a  game  is  a  very  interesting 
method  of  stimulation — not  possible  to  use  always  and 
regularly,  but  to  be  kept  in  mind  generally. 

A  great  adding  machine  house  utilized  it  successfully 
and  typically  as  follows : 

A  contest  was  arranged  for  April,  May  and  June,  end- 
ing up  with  a  "Post  Season  Championship  Game"  in  De- 
troit during  the  "all-star  concentration"  in  July. 

The  following  rules  were  given  as  to  "How  to  Finish 
on  Top." 

1.  Telegrams  will  be  accepted  at  the  close  of  each  game 
but  any  credit  not  confirmed  in  ten  days  will  be  deducted 
from  the  game  following. 

2.  There  are  ten  Company  Leagues,  each  composed  of 
agencies  with  similar  quotas.  Each  agency  represents  one 
team,  six  leagues  have  ten  each.  Four  leagues  have  twelve 
each. 

3.  Nine  games  are  scheduled  for  each  team,  each  game 
to  be  of  ten  days'  duration. 

4.  The  score  will  be  based  on  per  cent  of  quota  secured 
by  each  team  in  each  game. 

5.  The  team  winning  the  greatest  number  of  games 
becomes  champion  of  its  league. 

6.  Managers  of  the  ten  league  champion  teams  will 
attend  the  All-Star  Convention,  at  the  Company's  ex- 
pense and  has  adapted  baseball  to  their  latest  sales  contest 
and  has  thereby  given  each  man  a  chance  to  demonstrate 
his  progress  in  the  National  game. 

In  order  to  play  the  game  the  selling  organization  was 
divided  up  into  leagues,  the  divisions  being  decided  ac- 
cording to  the  quotas  of  the  various  agencies. 

Each  agency  of  this  adding  machine  company  was  as- 
signed a  quota  at  the  beginning  of  the  year.     This  quota 


164  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

means  that  the  company  expects  that  agency  to  sell  a 
certain  number  of  points  a  month,  each  point  representing 
a  definite  amount  of  money. 

In  arranging  the  ten  leagues  into  which  the  sales  force 
was  divided,  agencies  having  the  same  or  nearly  the  same 
quotas  were  pitted  against  each  other.  Nine  teams  plaj-^ed 
against  a  picked  team  of  All-Star  Men  for  baseball  cham- 
pionship of  Selling  Force. 

7.  The  manager  whose  team  leads  the  other  nine  league- 
champion  teams  in  total  per  cent  of  quota  secured  for 
three  months,  becomes  captain  and  manager  of  the  Man- 
agers' team  during  its  stay  in  Detroit. 

8.  The  decision  in  any  tie  game  will  go  to  the  team 
having  the  larger  per  cent  of  quota  for  the  previous 
month. 

9.  In  case  of  a  tied  score  at  the  end  of  the  contest, 
per  cent  of  quota  for  three  months  will  determine  the 
winner. 

10.  Appeals  or  contention  must  be  entered  by  the  end 
of  the  game  following  that  with  which  the  appeal  is  con- 
cerned. 

11.  In  case  of  a  tie  where  rules  8  or  9  are  applied  and 
the  result  still  remains  a  tie,  per  cent  of  quota  from  Janu- 
ary 1  will  decide  the  winner. 

It  was  arranged  to  publish  a  "dope  sheet"  under  the 
title  "Burroughs  Score  Board"  during  the  series.  This 
sheet  was  for  the  purpose  of  giving  complete  information 
as  to  the  relative  standings  of  the  teams  and  leagues  and 
to  keep  the  ball  rolling.  This  sheet  on  account  of  its 
realistic  talk  and  appearance,  was  the  means  of  continually 
keeping  the  enthusiasm  at  its  highest  pitch.  The  editors 
instilled  every  bit  of  baseball  terminology  and  "pep"  pos- 
sible. Cartoons  and  pictures  of  the  various  men  were  used 
freely.  "Old  Man  Quota"  was  played  up  prominently  in 
every  cartoon. 


PRIZE,  BONUS  AND  STIMULATION  PLANS    365 

Short  squibs  concerning  the  players  were  also  used. 
These  instilled  a  personal  feeling  and  interest  into  the  con- 
test. Baseball  atmosphere  was  created  at  every  turn  of 
the  contest. 

Snappy  ginger  talks  were  introduced  and  served  as  in- 
spiration to  every  man.  The  following  is  part  of  such  a 
talk: 

"Game  seven  is  on!  The  magic,  lucky  number  is  here! 
You  who  have  had  the  luck  stay  with  it!  You  who  have 
struck  a  snag  at  every  turn,  remember,  that  now  is  the 
time  for  things  to  take  a  turn.  Down  through  seasons 
of  countless  ages  this  number  has  had  all  the  luck  that  ever 
counted. 

"That  lucky  Seventh,"  is  the  cry!  Are  you  ready 
to  grab  your  luck!  Taken  as  a  whole  there  has  been 
no  game  so  far  in  which  all  the  contests  were  so  hard 
fought  and  closely  won  as  in  game  6.  Few  and  far  be- 
tween were  the  shut-out  victories  and  just  as  rare  were 
lop-sided  scores.  At  the  middle  of  the  game  even  the 
shrewdest  dopesters  were  at  a  loss  to  say  who  would  win 
any  game — and  none  of  the  contests  were  "over"  till  the 
ninth  was  finished.  This  is  the  kind  of  ball  we  like  to  see. 
A  manager's  team  picked  from  a  bunch  of  fighters  such 
as  those  now  leading  in  the  tournament  would  make  any 
all-star  organization  go  some.  We  can  hardly  wait  to 
know  who  is  going  to  make  up  the  managers'  team.  Come 
through  now  and  show  us." 

The  results  of  this  campaign  are  best  indicated  by  the 
statement  of  one  of  the  officials  of  the  Burroughs  Com- 
pany : 

"The  effect  of  this  sales  campaign  upon  the  organiza- 
tion was  as  though  '  Skinny 's'  team  was  to  play  the  East 
Siders  on  the  Fair  grounds  on  Saturday  morning." 

"It  struck  a  responsive  chord  in  every  man  and  he  re- 
acted.    They  were  boys  again  playing  on  the  corner  lot 


166  MODERN  SALESIVIANAGEMENT 

and  all  felt  the  lure  of  the  diamond.  Though  purely 
imaginary,  every  game  was  played  with  all  the  enthusiasm 
of  the  days  when  they  were  slab  artists. 

"The  'score  board'  was  eagerly  watched  for  and  tacked 
np  prominently  in  every  office.  Every  man  was  inter- 
ested and  with  such  interest  the  results  were  inevitable, 
the  boy-heart  had  been  appealed  to — and  not  in  vain." 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE  SCIENTIFIC  POINT  SYSTEM  FOR  QUOTAS  A2TD 

CONTESTS 

125.  Reasons  for  Development  of  Point  System. — The 
Point  System  has  been  developed  as  a  means  of  meeting 
the  many  objections  which  formerly  prevailed  against  the 
use  of  the  more  ordinary  forms  of  prize  contests  for  sales- 
men, or  rating  of  territories  for  quotas. 

Most  businesses  are  too  complex  to  admit  of  any  simple 
and  blanket  method  of  comparison;  and  most  other  meth- 
ods of  fixing  the  basis  of  contests  have  proved  defective 
because  of  incomplete  adjustment  to  the  conditions  of  a 
business. 

Some  of  the  factors  which  upset  calculations  (before  the 
Point  System  was  developed)   were: 

1.  The  difference  in  the  merchandise  and  the  profit  con- 
siderations concerning  them.  Nearly  all  firms  which  make 
more  than  one  article  find  that  for  one  reason  or  another, 
or  at  one  season  above  another,  the  relative  desirability  of 
sales  is  different.  In  other  words,  the  National  Lead  Com- 
pany, for  instance,  does  not  desire  to  induce  "its  salesmen 
to  spend  a  great  deal  of  time  selling  lead  to  tinsmiths  when 
that  time  can  be  more  profitably  employed  in  pushing  a 
line  which  is  not  as  staple  as  lead,  but  which  is  a  specialty 
which  the  market  is  not  educated  to  buy  automatically. 
It  desires  to  have  salesmen  sell  its  specialties  before  all 
other  things. 

2.  The  differences  in  territories  are  so  great  that  few 
firms  are  in  a  position  to  pit  any  one  territory  against  any 

167 


168  ]\IODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

other  except  on  the  accurate  basis  afforded  by  a  Point  Sys- 
tem. Some  territories  are  in  a  raw  state  of  undevelopment ; 
while  others  are  in  a  high  state  of  development. 

The  amount  and  character  of  salesmanship  required  to 
secure  a  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  business  in  unde- 
veloped territory  is  greater  than  in  a  developed  territory. 
Other  factors  which  make  territories  differ  are  the  density 
of  population,  the  accessibility,  etc.  (full  list  described 
■further). 

3.  The  amount  of  the  order  is  also  a  factor  which  in 
highly  developed  Point  Systems  is  considered  important. 

A  salesman  who  sells  to  concerns  which  buy  in  large 
orders,  takes  a  greater  volume  of  business  with  less  effort 
than  the  salesman  who  sells  a  smaller  type  of  concern 
which  takes  smaller  average  orders. 

4.  The  feeling  is  often  justified  on  the  part  of  salesmen 
that  the  quotas  are  inexact,  the  comparisons  unfair  and  the 
calculations  haphazard. 

The  above  conditions  and  variations  are  the  cause  of  the 
development  of  the  Point  System,  which  permits  mathe- 
matically accurate  measurements  and  comparisons  for 
many  complicated  factors. 

126.  Instructions  for  Operating  Point  System. — At  first 
glance  the  system  seems  complicated,  but  this  is  only  be- 
cause it  takes  care  of  so  many  individual  factors.  In 
reality  it  is  a  very  simple  system  and  the  complicated  part 
need  never  come  to  the  foreground  where  it  might  confuse 
the  ordinary  mind. 

The  first  step  is  to  hold  a  conference  which  might  in- 
clude (1)  salesmanager,  (2)  one  or  two  of  the  best  sales- 
men (preferably  two  selected  by  salesmen  to  represent 
them),  (3)  one  or  two  members  of  the  firm — high  execu- 
tives or  directors,  (4)  a  capable  statistician,  (5)  sales 
counsellor  or  specialist. 

The  steps  of  procedure  are: 


THE  SCIENTIFIC  POINT  SYSTEM  169 

1.  Select  from  the  factors  outlined  in  the  paragraphs 
to  follow,  such  as  are  agreed  to  have  important  bearing 
on  the  nature  of  the  territory  for  the  article ;  factors  in 
all  three  main  divisions  of  the  point  system — territory  fac- 
tors, merchandise  factors,  special  factors. 

2.  Proceed  to  rate  these  factors  in  terms  of  figures  in 
ratio  to  the  other  factors  in  that  division,  counting  100 
as  the  total  for  the  factors  selected  from  each  division. 
To  illustrate:  if  only  3  territory  factors  are  selected,  one 
will  be  rated  at  49,  perhaps  another  at  25,  and  another 
at  35 ;  total  100. 

3.  Secure  and  analyze  the  territory  data,  after  it  has 
been  decided  what  data  is  desirable  in  order  to  correctly 
rank  each  territory.  Some  of  the  territory  factors  can 
only  be  properly  gauged  by  combined  judgment  rather 
than  by  hard  and  fast  statistics.  But  this  need  not  prevent 
expression  of  such  judgment  in  a  judgment-ratio  fig- 
ure. In  arriving  at  such  a  '* judgment  ratio"  the  best 
plan  is  to  secure  the  judgment  of  each  eligible  member  of 
the  conference  in  the  form  of  a  ratio  figure,  and  then  reach 
the  final  figure  by  averaging.  To  illustrate :  If  the  sales- 
manager 's  estimate  of  the  ratio  figure  for  a  certain  special 
factor  is  33,  the  statistician's  28  and  some  one  else's  40,  the 
average  of  30  will  be  an  excellent  ratio  to  use. 

4.  The  result  attained  then  will  be  figures  of  two 
numerals  each  representing  (1)  the  relative  difficulty  of 
selling  in  each  sales  district,  (2)  the  relative  desirability 
of  sale  of  each  separate  product,  separated  in  groups,  and 
(3)  the  relative  reward  value  and  desirability  of  certain 
superiorities  in  individual  salesmanship,  such  as  largest 
number  of  towns  visited,  etc. 

5.  If  size  of  order  represents  any  element  desirable  to 
stimulate  or  presents  a  difficulty,  because  certain  salesmen 
travel  the  large  order  trade  and  other  equally  good  sales- 
men travel  small  order  trade,  then  a  scale  of  point  varia- 


170  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

tions  may  be  made  up  for  various  sizes  of  orders.  In 
many  cases  the  Point  System  is  not  used  for  anything; 
but  to  reckon  sales;  as,  for  instance,  the  National  Cash 
Register  plan  of  counting  each  sale  of  $25  a  point.  For 
firms  selling  one  thing  only  this  may  be  quite  sufficient. 

127.  Applications  of  the  Point  System. — The  Point  Sys- 
tem used  on  a  wider  scale  requires  much  care  at  the  start, 
to  make  sure  its  basis  is  correct,  but  once  it  is  figured  it 
becomes  automatic  and  simple.  The  points  become  fixed 
in  the  mind  of  the  salesmen  and  the  system  works  like  a 
machine. 

Salesmen  are  able  to  compute  their  standing  readily,  and 
have  more  confidence  in  a  system  which,  it  may  readily 
be  seen,  is  capable  of  the  fine  adjustments  to  differences 
and  variating  factors. 

The  Point  System  does  for  a  sales  organization  what 
the  decimal  system  does  to  arithmetic — it  makes  elaborate 
reckonings  simple.  It  applies  mathematical  exactitude  to 
matters  which  would  otherwise  be  arbitrarily  and  crudely 
handled. 

The  Point  System  is  by  no  means  only  for  large  and 
complicated  businesses.  It  is  usable  in  very  simple  forms 
— ^merely  to  represent  a  unit  of  sales  (as  National  Cash 
Register  plan  described  above)  or  for  a  group  of  special 
bonus  offers  for  various  tasks  and  goals,  each  with  a  vary- 
ing importance  and  point- value.  The  smallest  business  as 
well  as  the  largest  may  use  it  with  equal  economy  and 
facility,  because  it  is  a  principle  of  efficiency  of  reckoning, 
and  not  a  mere  device. 

128.  Territory  Factors  Measurable  by  Means  of  Point  Sys- 
tem.—  By  no  means  do  all  firms  require  the  securing  of  all 
the  information  here  listed ;  but  the  more  it  is  secured  the 
more  accurate  and  just  the  basis  for  analyzing  sales  work. 

A  careful  survey  should  be  made  and  merged  with  all 
data  on   the   elements  which   affect  the   local  situation. 


THE  SCIENTIFIC  TOINT  SYHTEJVi  171 

Among  the  factors  (in  addition  to  other  data  later  de- 
scribed) which  are  likely  to  be  useful  in  establishing  a 
ratio  figure  for  territorial  differences,  are  the  following: 

1.  Volume  of  goods  sold  by  all  manufacturers  in  th3 
line. 

2.  Density  of  population. 

3.  Density  of  dealers  (per  square  mile  and  per  1,000 
of  population). 

4.  Kailroad  mileage,  population  per  mile  of  railway, 
miles  of  railway  and  trolley  per  square  mile. 

5.  Inaccessible  population. 

6.  Volume  of  prior  sales. 

7.  Character  of  population. 

9.  Distribution  of  per  capita  valuation  of  realty,  bank 
deposits,  business  offices,  etc. 

10.  Distribution  of  building  activity  or  other  vital  fac- 
tors affecting  the  business. 

11.  Special  considerations. 

It  is  no  simple  task  to  coordinate  all  these  factors,  but 
the  variety  of  factors  used  should  make  the  final  resulting 
quota  nearly  free  from  arbitraiy  elements.  The  aim  is 
to  secure  something  like  a  reasanahle  comparative  figure, 
the  composite  figure  rating  all  the  individual  factors  used, 
for  each  unit  of  territory. 

129.  Merchandise  Factors  Measurable  by  Point  Systems,. — 
There  are  any  number  of  considerations  which  may  affect 
the  relative  desirability  of  the  sales  of  various  products. 
They  should  be  rated  according  to  relative  desirability  of 
sale  at  very  careful  conference  of  all  of  the  heads  of  the 
business,  including  the  directors,  in  order  that  the  wisest 
strategy  of  the  business  may  determine  this  important 
thing.  Among  the  considerations  which  are  valuable  in 
this  connection,  are: 

1.  A  new  product  which  is  going  exceptionally  well 
because  of  its  novelty  should  not  be  ranked  first,  even 


172  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

tliougli  it  is  very  profitable.  Experience  shows  that  sales- 
men give  such  new  products  an  unconscious  preference 
anyhow. 

2.  Articles  which  are  staple  and  routine  must  not  al- 
ways be  placed  at  the  lowest  ratio  because  they  are  natur- 
ally given  a  lesser  amount  of  attention,  and  careful  policy 
may  develop  reasons  why  they  should  be  pushed. 

3.  Trade  conditions  must  also,  as  well  as  strategy'-,  enter 
into  consideration,  since  there  is  ofttiraes  extra  resistance 
on  some  products  on  the  part  of  distribution. 

4.  It  is  desirable  to  establish  groups  of  products  so 
that  some  weaker  ones  of  the  group  may  secure  attention- 
because  of  such  grouping. 

To  give  an  example  of  this  grouping,  the  following 
table  shows  the  grouping  method  used  by  one  firm  which 
makes  a  considerable  number  of  products  in  the  roofing 
field: 

Class  1.    Paroid. 
Proslate. 

Class  2.     Black  Building 
Red  Rope 
Florian. 
Paint  and  Cement. 

Class  3.     Granitized. 
Coated. 
Insulating. 
Asphalt  Felt. 
Wall  Board. 
Wall  Battens. 
Waterdyke  Felt. 

Class  4.     Dry  Felt. 
Compound. 
Rosin  Sized. 


THE  SCIENTIFIC  POINT  SYSTEM  173 

Class  5.     Shingles. 

Floor  Covering. 

Class  6.  Miscellaneous.  (This  class  is  to  cover 
small  items  which  are  not  as  a  rule 
given  a  great  deal  of  attention.) 

It  is  well  to  plan  Sales  Report  forms,  order  forms,  bills, 
etc.,  on  the  standardized  basis  of  the  classification  accord- 
ing to  the  classes  of  products  grouped.  In  other  words, 
it  facilitates  handling  and  the  labor  of  making  compari- 
sons, if  all  order  blanks  and  sales  reports  group  the  prod- 
ucts according  to  the  classification  decided  upon  in  the 
Point  System.  In  this  way  the  total  for  each  classification 
of  products  on  any  individual  order  may  readily  be  added 
up  and  credited. 

130.  Special  Reward  Factors  Measurable  by  Point  System. 
— The  Point  System  is  used  not  alone  for  judging  the  regu- 
lar sales  work,  but  also  as  stimulus  for  special  achieve- 
ments— on  the  plan  of  a  bonus  system.  The  points  are 
given  in  place  of  merchandise  presents  or  money  prizes, 
and  help  to  raise  the  place  of  the  salesmen  in  the  general 
competition. 

The  following  are  some  of  the  factors  for  which  points 
may  be  given: 

1.  Largest  number  of  orders. 

2.  Largest  per  cent  of  increase  over  estimate. 

3.  Largest  increase  in  dollars  and  cents. 

4.  Largest  number  of  towns  visited. 

5.  Lowest  per  cent  of  expense  to  sales. 

6.  Ratio  of  town  reports  to  number  of  workable  towns 
in  territory. 

7.  Highest  percentage  ratio  between  gross  and  net 
sales. 

8.  Highest  percentage  of  estimate  new  agents  or  deale]?s 
stocked. 


174  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

9.  Lowest  number  of  past  due  accounts  in  territory 
(based  on  quarterly  showing  after  deducting  suspense  ac- 
counts collected). 

10.  Largest  number  of  orders  taken. 

11.  Highest  percentage  of  gain  over  previous  year  in 
Group  I. 

12.  Largest  number  of  individual  prospects  (or  towns) 
visited;  also  lowest  number  of  towns  or  prospects  visited. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

SALES  CONVENTIONS,  LECTURES  AND  CONFERENCES 

131.  How  the  Sales  Convention  Developed. — The  sales 
convention  has  come  as  a  necessary  factor  in  the  handling 
of  a  large  national  selling  organization;  and  because  of 
its  success  in  a  large  way,  has  demonstrated  its  value  even 
for  small  sales  organizations. 

As  national  organizations  work  at  long  distance  from 
the  home  ofSce,  and  as  it  is  never  satisfactory  to  deal  en- 
tirely by  mail  or  the  printed  word  with  regard  to  the  vital 
elements  of  selling  success,  small  as  well  as  large  concerns 
have  found  it  absolutely  necessary  to  gather  the  district 
managers,  at  least,  if  not  all  the  salesmen,  together  at  least 
once  a  year  in  order  to  develop  the  best  esprit  de  corps  and 
draw  by  personal  contact  with  the  master  minds  of  the 
business. 

The  first  to  use  this  method  were  the  organizations  of 
specialty  machinery  like  adding  machines,  typewriters, 
and  cash  registers,  because  they,  above  all  other  kinds  of 
sellers  of  merchandise,  were  obliged  to  sell  through  branch 
agencies,  and  were  completely  dependent  upon  the  branch 
managers  and  their  salesmen  for  success. 

The  earliest  conventions  on  record  among  these  and  other 
concerns  have  usually  been  more  or  less  of  a  junketing  na- 
ture, without  any  real  value  for  the  business.  This  was 
necessarily  so  until  more  experience  was  secured  as  to  the 
proper  method  of  getting  value  out  of  the  convention. 
And  while  many  conventions  now  held  are  still  of  this 
nature  rather  than  the  more  scientific  type,  the  tendency 

17? 


176  MODERN  SALESIMANAGEMENT 

is  rapidly  growing  to  make  such  conventions  more  busi- 
ness-like and  effective. 

Various  elements  have  been  put  into  the  convention  idea 
which  have  made  it  much  more  valuable  than  was  originally 
intended.  One  of  these  elements  is  advertising.  The 
other  is  schooling  and  instruction  for  salesmen  in  a  way 
not  heretofore  thought  possible  in  conventions. 

With  respect  to  the  advertising  to  be  secured,  this  has 
been  accomplished  by  running  special  trains  with  streamers 
along  the  side  from  various  places  to  the  convention  point, 
and  also  by  using  display  advertising  in  connection  with  the 
convention,  and  thus  to  impress  on  the  general  public  as 
well  as  the  trade,  the  bigness  of  the  organization  and  the 
importance  attached  to  the  convention.  In  some  cases, 
such  as  the  National  Cash  Register  Company,  newspapers 
or  periodicals  have  been  issued  and  publicity  matter  passed 
off  the  special  trains  along  the  line. 

132.  Illustration  of  Exceptionally  Elaborate  Convention. 
— As  an  indicator  of  length  to  which  some  large  firms  go 
in  stressing  a  sales  convention,  the  following  description 
of  arrangements  of  one  held  by  a  famous  company  will 
suffice : 

A  tented  city  was  put  up  with  very  comfortable  tents  of 
the  latest  construction  for  the  men.  The  city  itself  was 
laid  out  in  streets  with  proper  numbers  and  with  walks 
running  between  the  tents.  At  one  end  of  the  field  was 
a  splendid  series  of  shower  baths,  piped  for  hot  and  cold 
water,  lavatories,  a  very  comfortable  barber  shop,  with  a 
complete  outfit  such  as  you  would  find  in  a  very  well  regu- 
lated hotel.  A  dining  tent,  splendidly  equipped,  a  lounge 
tent,  filled  with  easy  chairs  and  couches,  post  office  in 
charge  of  an  official,  with  boxes  just  the  same  as  a  regular 
post  office — a  box  for  each  man ;  a  properly  equipped  tele- 
graph office ;  a  tent  equipped  with  a  dresser  for  each  man, 
with  toilet  articles  on  the  dressers.    Long  before  the  men 


SALES  CONVENTIONS,  LECTURES    177 

came  to  the  station  their  baggage  was  delivered.  A  laun- 
dry system,  a  lecture  tent,  with  stereopticon  and  motion 
pictures,  electrically  lighted,  were  operated.  The  camp 
was  situated  out  in  the  country  miles  from  the  factory.  It 
was  the  most  amazing  thing  that  the  men  who  attended  it 
had  ever  known  and  of  course  it  left  an  impression  upon 
the  men  which  brought  increased  efficiency  in  selling.  It 
is  true,  however,  that  such  extreme  elaboration  is  only  in 
rare  instances  a  wise  expenditure. 

133.  Making  Conventions  Profitable  and  Practical. — Con- 
vention planning  is  a  special  technique  in  itself  which  has 
grown  rapidly  in  recent  years,  and  there  are  now  men  who 
specialize  in  this  work.  It  is  realized  that  the  expenditure 
of  so  much  time  and  effort  (conventions  cost  from  $2,500 
to  $100,000  or  more)  warrants  great  care  with  details.  A 
poorly  planned  convention  may  do  more  harm  than  good. 

The  time  is  passed,  so  far  as  well  managed  companies  are 
concerned,  when  sales  conventions  are  held  annually  or 
semi-annually  just  because  so  much  time  has  elapsed. 

The  success  of  a  sales  convention  depends  primarily 
upon  the  definiteness  of  purpose  for  which  it  is  called, 
and  secondly  upon  the  efficiency  with  which  the  program 
is  carried  out  to  secure  that  purpose.  Definiteness  of  pur- 
pose makes  for  efficiency  of  method,  particularly  if  the 
salesmanager  in  charge  of  making  up  the  program  will 
check  every  detail  by  asking,  regarding  each,  these  two 
questions :  first,  is  this  the  thing  to  do  to  get  the  desired 
result;  second,  is  this  the  best  method  of  doing  it? 

The  paragraphs  to  follow  will  give  specific  advice  on 
the  various  methods  of  making  a  convention  produce  value. 

As  a  clincher  for  the  practical  value  of  sales  conventions, 
it  is  often  advisable  to  put  salesmen  and  district  man- 
agers on  record  as  to  the  volume  of  sales  which  they  will 
voluntarily  guarantee  during  the  coming  year.  The 
proper  method  applied  and  the  stimulus  of  rivalry  aroused 


178  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

by  personal  contact  with  the  other  district  managers,  re- 
sults frequently  in  a  very  effective  lining-up  of  sales  possi- 
bilities for  the  coming  year. 

134.  CoiTcct  Physical  Arrangements. — It  is  highly  essen- 
tial to  sales  convention  success  to  provide  wisely  for  the 
physical  comfort  of  the  salesmen  while  in  attendance. 

The  right  sort  of  meeting  place  must  be  provided.  The 
chairs  should  be  comfortable  and  there  should  be  sufficient 
room.  Two  of  the  details  essential  to  a  successful  meeting 
are:  first  (commonly  overlooked),  the  need  for  adequate 
ventilation,  and  second,  good  acoustics.  Fresh  air  is  ab- 
solutely essential  to  clear  thinking.  Every  man  needs  on 
an  average  fifty  cubic  feet  of  fresh  air  per  minute.  From 
this  as  a  standard  it  is  easy  to  compute  how  many  cubic 
feet  of  air  will  be  needed  and  how  much  air  space  and  air 
current  will  be  required  to  supply  them  with  fresh  air 
and  to  remove  the  vitiated  air. 

Hotel  quarters,  guides  when  necessary,  careful  instruc- 
tions as  to  what  to  do,  copies  of  the  program  where  these 
are  prepared  in  advance  for  distribution  are  necessary 
details. 

The  room  needs  to  be  properly  heated;  there  should  be 
pure  drinking  water  provided.  Experience  shows  that 
drinking  fountains  are  the  best  arrangements  so  far  de- 
vised for  use  where  large  groups  must  be  served,  but  if 
fountains  cannot  be  had  then  drinking  cups  should  be  sup- 
plied in  sufficient  quantity.  Proper  ventilation,  heating, 
and  plenty  of  good,  cool,  but  not  iced,  drinking  water  are 
aJl  more  important  to  the  success  of  the  sales  conventions 
than  most  people  think. 

Some  one  should  be  placed  in  charge  of  all  preliminary 
arrangements  for  the  meeting.  This  is  not  a  task  for  a 
"committee  on  arrangements,"  but  for  some  one  person 
who  can  specifically  be  asked  to  see  that  everything  is 
done  and  that  all  things  are  in  their  proper  places  before 


SALES  CONVENTIONS,  LECTURES    179 

the  meeting  begins.  For  example,  all  signs,  decorations, 
bulletins,  etc.,  should  be  posted.  Chairs  and  desks  should 
be  in  their  places.  There  should  be  some  means  of  calling 
the  meeting  to  order  promptly  by  some  easily  recognized 
signal.  All  exhibits,  demonstration  apparatus  and  other 
material  that  is  to  be  used  in  the  convention  should  be 
in  their  places  when  the  meeting  begins.  There  is  no 
excuse  for  delays  occasioned  by  lack  of  note  paper,  of 
samples  inadvertently  left  in  somebody's  office  that  should 
be  in  place. 

135.  Promptness  and  Dispatch. — The  first  rule  is  to  begin 
on  time.  Every  minute  of  the  convention  is  extremely 
valuable.  How  valuable  it  is  may  be  determined  by  com- 
puting the  salaries  and  daily  expenses  of  all  of  the  men 
in  attendance  and  reduce  this  to  a  cost  or  value-per-minute 
basis.  From  this  it  will  be  easy  to  see  how  much  is  lost 
even  if  the  convention  begins  only  fifteen  minutes  late. 
Beginning  on  time  sets  the  right  example  for  the  sales- 
men, besides  making  it  possible  to  carry  out  the  program 
on  schedule  time. 

As  a  rule,  it  is  advisable  to  strike  the  intended  keynote 
of  the  convention  in  the  first  few  minutes  of  the  meeting, 
to  tell  the  members  what  the  meeting  is  for  and  from  that 
time  on  to  deliver  the  goods,  so  to  speak,  as  directly  as 
possible  in  accordance  with  the  aims  outlined  in  these  first 
few  minutes. 

Frequent  recesses  of  two  or  three  minutes  are  valuable. 
At  such  times  it  is  a  good  idea  to  have  the  salesmen  get 
up  on  their  feet,  stretch  or  take  some  form  of  calisthenic 
exercise  that  can  be  directed  from  the  platform. 

The  meeting  must  be  kept  moving  from  the  time  it 
starts  in  session.  The  salesmanager  should  keep  his  hands 
on  the  situation  all  of  the  time.  There  will  be  abundant 
temptations  for  him  to  be  led  away  from  the  meeting  to 
discuss  this  or  that  matter,  all  of  which  are  likely  to  lose 


180  ]\10DERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

for  him  the  contract  that  he  should  keep.  The  salesman- 
ager,  as  chairman  of  the  meeting,  should  be  absolutely  fair 
at  all  times  and  never  be  guilty  of  partiality  in  any  form. 
The  man  with  an  objection  should  be  met  in  the  most  tact- 
ful manner  possible;  it  is  frequently  best,  instead  of  at- 
tempting to  answer  the  objections  raised  by  men,  if  there 
are  such,  to  get  the  objectors  themselves  to  formulate  their 
own  answers  and  then  to  follow  them  up  by  getting  the 
other  salesmen  to  work  on  the  objections.  An  attempt  to 
sell  or  convince  the  objector  of  his  error  before  all  of  the 
salesmen  frequently  ends  in  the  salesmen  fighting  back, 
remaining  unconvinced,  or  in  a  wrong  impression  gained 
by  a  number  of  the  men  in  attendance. 

136.  Importance  of  Food  and  Drink  Problem. — Careful 
attention  should  be  given  even  to  planning  the  meals  for 
the  salesmen  while  in  attendance.  The  common  evil  at 
times  of  sales  conventions  is  overeating.  The  companion- 
ship of  other  vigorous  men,  the  good  fare  offered  in  the 
hotels,  the  hospitality  of  the  company,  all  contribute  to 
this  result. 

Salesmen  as  a  rule  are  active  men,  and  in  a  convention 
they  are  required  to  sit  still  for  hours  at  a  time  and  with- 
out exercise.  The  result  is  that  the  overeating  leads  to 
poor  physical  and  particularly  sluggish  mental  condition. 
Thus,  just  when  you  want  your  men  to  be  in  the  livest, 
most  receptive  mood  to  the  ideas  you  have  to  give  them, 
through  a  detail  of  bad  planning,  namely,  wrong  food  sup- 
ply, you  find  the  men  sleepy,  complacent,  conservative, 
non-aggressive,  and  without  fire  and  pep. 

As  for  alcohol,  the  day  of  the  "wet"  convention  has 
passed  by.  The  salesman  who  drinks  cannot  be  an  effi- 
cient salesman,  nor  can  he  be  depended  upon.  These  facts 
being  well  known,  there  is  little  excuse  for  any  departure 
from  this  rule  of  temperance  at  sales  conventions. 

At  convention  time  the  salesmen  get  their  impressions 


SALES  CONVENTIONS,  LECTURES    181 

of  their  employers.  With  that  in  view  can  any  sober, 
hard-working  salesmanager  afford  to  "fall  off  the  water 
wagon,"  so  to  speak,  in  the  presence  of  his  employees, 
when  he  should  indicate  to  them  by  his  every  action  the 
earnestness  and  intensity  of  interest  he  feels  in  his  work 
and  the  need  for  sobriety? 

Incidentally,  it  may  be  desirable  to  have  some  lessons 
presented  to  the  salesmen  on  the  subject  of  personal  physi- 
cal efficiency.  An  address  from  an  able  physician  upon 
this  subject  will  ordinarily  receive  much  closer  attention 
than  the  same  remarks  would  from  a  member  of  the  com- 
pany, 

137.  Making  a  Successful  Program. — Every  subject  to  be 
presented  at  the  convention  needs  to  be  fully  outlined  and 
prepared  in  detail  considerably  in  advance  of  the  meet- 
ing. In  most  cases  the  salesmanager  will  find  it  best  to 
define  very  fully  just  what  he  wants  each  person  desig- 
nated to  take  part  to  do  on  the  program. 

Every  person  participating  in  the  meeting  in  any  way 
should  be  fully  sold  in  advance  on  what  the  salesmanager 
wishes  to  accomplish,  and  in  this  connection  it  may  be 
frankly  stated  that  it  is  often  harder  to  sell  the  officers 
of  the  company  or  heads  of  other  departments  than  any 
other  group  of  people.  There  is  rarely  that  unity  of  in- 
terest and  purpose  of  sales  meetings  that  there  should  be. 
It  is  not  to  be  understood  that  this  lack  of  cooperation 
Avhere  it  occurs  is  intentional.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  due 
almost  wholly  to  a  desire  to  help,  but  not  knowing  just 
what  help  to  give,  the  effort  is  misspent  in  every  direction. 

The  meeting  when  once  called  should  move  forward  in 
an  interesting  and  sprightly  manner.  Many  suggestions 
will  ordinarily  need  to  be  given  to  the  persons  who  are 
participating  in  tlie  program,  regarding  the  necessity  for 
eliminating  all  long-winded  preliminaries,  all  self-lauda- 
tion, personal  bouquets  as  well  as  individual  criticisms. 


182  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

One  of  the  most  common  evils  in  most  conventions  is 
the  fact  that  many  persons  who  enter  into  sales  discussions, 
as  well  as  the  speakers  upon  the  program,  do  not  make 
themselves  heard  to  all  members  in  the  convention  hall. 
Every  effort  should  be  made  in  advance  to  impress  upon 
the  speakers  the  need  for  talking  loud  enough.  Instruct 
the  speakers  to  make  themselves  heard  by  the  men  in  the 
last  row. 

The  question  of  introduction  of  speakers  from  the  out- 
side is  important,  and  is  usually  a  good  thing. 

New  movements  in  marketing  methods,  illustrations  of 
what  is  being  done  in  other  companies,  and  many  other 
subjects  of  value  to  the  salesmen  may  well  be  presented 
by  persons  from  outside  of  the  organization,  by  men  who 
are  qualified  by  experience  or  study  to  speak  as  authorities 
on  these  subjects. 

It  is,  of  course,  essential  that  the  outsider  should  have 
a  message  that  will  help  to  carry  out  the  purpose  for 
which  the  meeting  was  called.  Before  placing  such  out- 
sider's help  on  the  program,  it  is  imperative  that  the  sales- 
manager  should  clearly  know  what  will  be  presented  and 
how,  so  that  he  can,  by  his  own  follow-up,  fully  cash  in  on 
what  is  presented  by  the  specialist. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

MANAGING  SALESMEN'S  TEMPERAMENTS  AND  HABITS 

138.  The  Salesman  Type  of  Mind  and  Its  Needs. — Prac- 
tically all  salesmen,  certainly  all  average  and  lower  grade 
salesmen,  need  to  lean  on  some  other  individual  for 
strength  and  management,  not  alone  for  the  operation  of 
their  sales  work,  but  also  for  their  problems  of  personal 
life.  Their  emotions  are  almost  invariably  involved  in 
their  jobs  and  in  their  superiors;  if  they  are  not,  their 
work  is  not  likely  to  be  up  to  par.  Their  ambitions,  their 
home  life,  general  habits  and  state  of  mind  are  of  very 
definite  importance  to  the  firm  and  bear  an  unmistakable 
relationship  to  their  sales  performance. 

The  most  certain  way  to  failure  in  managing  salesmen 
is  to  ignore  this  personal  and  temperamental  side  of  the 
men.  The  greatest  success  in  management  of  salesmen  is 
usually  achieved  by  big-hearted,  manly  "men's  men,"  who 
also  combine  with  these  qualities  exact  justice,  penetrating 
analysis  of  human  nature  and  an  optimistic  temperament. 
However,  as  this  type  of  salesmanager  is  frequently  de- 
ficient in  the  analytical  merchandising  knowledge  neces- 
sary otherwise  in  salesmanagement,  it  is  often  advisable 
to  employ  a  manager  of  salesmen  who  will  be  under  the 
salesmanager  and  have  nothing  else  on  his  mind  but  the 
study  of  the  personality  and  development  of  the  salesmen 
individually. 

The  very  fact  that  a  man  30  years  of  age  or  over  is  a 
salesman  indicates  certain  tendencies  of  mind  which 
call  for  supervision.    It  is  a  saying  among  salesmanagers 

183 


184  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

that  the  moment  a  salesman  ceases  to  need  management 
he  is  ready  to  be  called  in  for  a  bigger  job;  therefore,  in 
a  sense  salesmen  are  incomplete  characters,  or  highly  spe- 
cialized characters,  calling  for  unusually  sympathetic  treat- 
ment and  constant  individual  attention  and  study. 

Leading  something  of  a  nomadic  life,  concentrating  day 
after  day  upon  people  who  resist  his  arguments,  and  being 
away  from  normal  social  life,  a  salesman  is  somewhat  of  an 
actor  and  an  unnatural  individual  in  presenting  his  prop- 
osition. He  endeavors  to  adjust  himself  to  the  particular 
whims  or  moods  of  the  prospect  he  calls  on.  He  is  forced 
to  subdue  his  real  personality,  his  real  thoughts  and  feel- 
ings. The  new  conception  of  salesmanship  is  getting  away 
from  this  unnaturalness,  yet  at  best,  it  is  a  sort  of  Dr. 
Jekyl  and  Mr.  Hyde  existence,  sure  to  have  an  effect  of 
lack  of  balance  on  himself  and  to  require  a  more  normal 
individual  to  closely  supervise  him ;  not  as  a  critic  and 
work  driver,  but  as  a  friend  and  healthy  counterbalance. 
Recognition  of  this  purely  personal  balancing  function  by 
a  salesmanager  is  highly  essential. 

139.  Development  and  Maintenance  of  Self-Faith. — The 
outstanding  fact  about  salesmen  is  that  they  must  believe 
in  themselves  to  an  unusual,  even  almost  to  an  egotistic 
extent.  The  story  is  told  of  a  salesman  on  the  witness 
stand  who,  on  being  asked  if  he  thought  he  was  a  good 
salesman,  replied  that  he  was  one  of  the  best  in  the  world. 
"Are  you  kidding  yourself  or  the  court?"  jested  the  op- 
posing lawyer.  "I  am  on  the  witness  stand  under  oath, 
and  I  will  not  perjure  myself  with  any  other  estimate  of 
myself,"  was  the  salesman's  facetious  but  semi-serious 
reply. 

It  is  the  task  of  every  salesmanager  to  carefully  awaken 
and  preserve  in  all  salesmen  their  own  self -faith. 

If  a  salesman  thinJcs  that  he  can  do  a  certain  thing,  it  is 
more  than  half  done,  but  so  long  as  he  has  even  a  remote 


MANAGING  SALESMEN'S  TEMPERAMENTS    185 

idea  that  he  cannot  do  it,  it  is  a  moral  certainty  that  he 
never  will. 

It  is  naturally  of  first  importance  to  watch  in  each  sales- 
man the  status  of  his  self-measurement.  Some  men  are 
too  modest.  An  excess  of  modesty  is  usually  a  fatal  bar- 
rier to  selling  success — far  more  so  than  an  excess  of  self- 
esteem.  The  reason  is  that  people  look  to  the  salesman 
to  provide  not  only  his  own  estimate  of  the  merchandise 
but  also  his  own  estimate  of  himself  and  the  worthwhile- 
ness  of  talking  to  him.  His  personal  vanity  in  his  clothes, 
manner,  speech  and  person  has  intimate  relation  to  his  self- 
esteem.  It  is  an  important  indicator,  also  it  is  a  means  for 
the  development  of  pride  and  self-faith.  There  are  man}^ 
salesmen  who  before  tackling  a  ' '  tough  nut ' '  customer  will 
"blow"  themselves  to  a  new  coat,  suit,  hat  or  other  piece 
of  apparel  as  an  aid  to  their  "nerve." 

The  secret  of  well-maintained  self-faith  is  that  some  evi- 
dence of  success  must  he  coming  along  continuously.  Sales- 
men of  the  average  kind  are  not  long-distance  champions ; 
few  can  hold  out  without  a  taste  of  some  decided  success 
at  least  once  each  thirty  days.  The  salesmanager  who  is 
wise  will  see  that  once  at  least  in  such  an  interval  of  time 
something  occurs  which  will  encourage  self-faith  in  each 
salesman.  No  salesman  can  withstand  for  long  a  bombard- 
ment of  demands  and  cold  scrutinizing  analysis  from  his 
superiors  unless  he  is  making  good  unmistakably;  and  as 
he  usually  gets  such  treatment  only  when  his  record  is 
doubtful,  the  first  thing  that  happens  is  the  fatal  thing — 
loss  of  self-faith.  Greatest  faith  in  a  good  salesman  should 
be  displayed  at  his  weakest  hour  of  performance,  and 
should  be  shown,  not  as  mere  blind  trust,  but  in  form 
which  provides  material  for  the  salesman's  own  renewal 
of  self-faith.  Judicious  praise  for  a  minor  detail,  good- 
natured  raillery  or  judicial  expectation  and  confidence  are 
effective. 


186  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

140.  Adjusting  Salesmen  to  Organization  Work. — Sales- 
men are  not  fundamentally  organization  men.  It  is  a  rare 
exception  when  a  salesman  is  a  good  organization  man, 
and  it  is  perfectly  natural  that  he  should  not  be.  There 
is  little  in  the  traveling  salesman's  life  conducive  to  either 
system  or  organization.  Many  men  have  chosen  it  be- 
cause it  gives  them  a  sense  of  freedom,  and  it  is  difficult 
for  them  to  reconcile  this  desire  for  freedom  with  the 
restraint  of  organization.  This  condition  should  lead  to 
using  more  temperate  and  indirect  methods  toward  sales- 
men than  is  necessary  toward  either  the  inside  office  or 
factory  organization. 

Salesmen  chafe  under  discipline.  As  the  business  grows 
in  size  and  the  work  on  the  inside  is  subdivided  into  a 
variety  of  departments,  each  considering  its  particular 
duties  of  prime  importance,  the  salesman,  who  in  a  sense 
represents  each  department  in  his  territory,  is  often  del- 
uged with  mail,  some  of  which  is  bound  to  be  interpreted 
as  conflicting.  He  is  slow  to  see  organization  purpose  back 
of  it  and  is  inclined  to  resent  this  multiplicity  of  instruc- 
tions. This  is  particularly  true  when  instructions  are  re- 
ceived from  individuals  that  the  salesman  is  not  personally 
acquainted  with. 

This  suggests  the  need  in  business  of  selling  completely 
the  service  of  each  department  so  that  the  salesman  will 
see  to  an  extent  at  least  how  each  fits  into  the  general 
scheme  of  things.  He  should  be  taught  the  necessity  for 
subdivision  and  departmentizing  of  work  on  the  inside — 
that  it  always  leads  to  greatest  total  efficiency  from  a  com- 
pany as  well  as  an  individual  standpoint.  An  explanation 
occasionally  of  these  fundamentals  of  business  removes 
suspicion  from  the  salesman's  mind  and  places  him  in  a 
more  receptive  mood  to  cooperate. 

This  point  also  suggests  the  importance  of  subduing  or 
at  any  rate  minimizing  the  correspondence  with  salesmen. 


MANAGING  SALESMEN'S  TEMPERAMENTS    187 

There  is  a  plan  used  in  some  organizations  of  clearing  in- 
structions to  the  salesmen  from  all  departments  through 
a  separate  individual  or  at  least  through  the  Sales  De- 
partment only.  This  eliminates  conflicting  correspondence 
and  tends  to  cut  down  unnecessary  letters  to  salesmen. 

Sales  conventions  and  sales  schools — subjects  elsewhere 
treated — are  also  important  instruments  for  building  up 
the  knowledge  of  organization  in  salesmen.  Not  the  tech- 
nique of  organization,  but  the  spirit  of  organization  is  im- 
portant. 

This  spirit  of  organization  consists  of  an  attitude  of 
mind,  which  in  a  salesman  is  at  its  best  when  it  is  partly 
personal  loyalty  to  the  head  of  the  house  or  to  the  sales- 
manager,  and  partly  genuine  enthusiasm  and  belief  in  the 
desirability  of  the  merchandise  and  the  correctness  of  the 
sales  campaign  plan.  System,  routine  and  mechanism  of 
all  sorts  are  valuable  only  to  a  certain  degree  which  should 
be  shrewdly  sized  up  at  the  outset  in  relation  to  the  plan 
and  the  personality  of  the  salesmen. 

Salesmen  must  never  be  regarded  quite  like  the  rest  of 
the  organization  in  respect  to  organization,  because  while 
all  the  other  workers  are  dealing  with  physical  things  that 
can  be  touched  and  seen,  the  salesmen  are  dealing  with 
the  intangible,  and  are,  in  a  sense,  creators  of  something 
which  did  not  before  exist.  They  need  to  be  regarded  in 
the  light  of  creators  rather  than  as  routine  workers,  and 
as  creators  they  must  be  burdened  with  an  absolute  mini- 
mum of  detail.  The  aim  must  be  to  increase  their  time  at 
the  real  work  of  argument,  persuasion  and  presentation, 
and  decrease  their  time  at  all  else. 

141.  Overcoming  Too  Great  Obsession  by  Competition. — ■ 
Salesmen  are  likely  to  be  over-disturbed  by  competition. 
It  bulks  up  large  in  their  minds  for  the  simple  reason  that 
it  is  the  most  frequent  reason  given  them  for  not  obtaining 
an  order ;  also  the  most  simple  explanation  they  can  make 


188  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

to  themselves  for  lack  of  success.  The  grass  always  looks 
greener  on  the  next  hill;  the  competitor  seems  always  to 
a  salesman  to  be  a  bit  more  dangerous  than  he  really  is. 
An  amusing  proof  of  this  is  given  by  a  well-known  sales- 
manager,  who  relates: 

"When  I  was  in  the  paint  business  I  used  to  call  on 
our  agents,  and  I  got  the  impression  that  as  a  whole  they 
were  dissatisfied  and  were  quite  enthusiastic  about  our 
competitor's  line.  Later  I  changed  to  another  line  and, 
strange  to  relate,  when  I  called  on  those  same  dealers  they 
were  so  well  satisfied  wnth  the  brand  I  used  to  sell  that 
they  could  not  be  moved." 

Salesmen  do  not  analyze  all  this,  and  they  readily  get 
the  impression  that  competition  possesses  non-plussing 
specific  advantages  and  is  making  great  inroads.  This 
impression  can  be  corrected  by  frequent  cool  analysis  with 
the  men  of  the  points  of  competition,  and  the  relative 
general  status  of  the  concerns.  If  such  relative  status  is 
unfavorable  to  the  house,  the  work  of  building  a  right 
attitude  among  salesmen  is  especially  important.  Sales- 
men who  must  face  the  competition  of  a  larger  and 
older  house,  a  house  able  to  spend  more  money  in  sales 
development,  and  perhaps  even  rendering  a  superior  ar- 
ticle or  ser\'ice,  deserve  the  very  ablest  salesmanagement 
possible  if  they  are  expected  to  succeed.  That  they  do  often 
succeed  is  due  to  the  spirit  and  attitude  of  mind  which 
can  be  developed  through  wise  handling  of  competition,  a 
spirit  of  dare  and  contest  which  is  actually  heightened  by 
the  presence  of  heavy  odds. 

The  prime  element  of  success  in  such  an  effort  to  drive 
fear  of  competition  out  of  a  salesman's  mind  is  the  ap- 
peal to  the  latent  fighting  spirit  in  every  man.  Not  an 
open  destructive  warfare  on  competition,  but  a  spirit  of 
contest  and  of  merit  matched  against  merit.  This  spirit 
is  easily  carried  too  far,  but  it  is  a  deep-rooted  male  in- 


MANAGING  SALESMEN'S  TEMPERAMENTS    189 

stinct  not  to  be  overlooked.  Of  greatest  importance  is 
detailed  understanding  and  comparison  of  the  goods  com- 
ing into  competition,  and  concentrated  emphasis  upon  the 
superiorities  or  exclusive  features  of  the  article. 

142.  Correcting  Erroneous  Notions  That  Salesmen  De- 
velop.— It  should  never  "be  held  against  salesmen  that  they 
develop  "notions"  and  become  hypercritical  of  the  house's 
policy,  etc.,  because  it  is  only  human  that  some  of  the 
opposing  arguments  they  hear  daily,  far  away  from  the 
original  source  of  reassurance  and  information,  should 
stick  in  their  minds  and  have  an  effect. 

A  most  common  instance  is  that  the  salesman  feels  that 
his  prices  are  too  high.  He  gets  this  idea  because  every 
buyer  tells  him  so ;  tells  him  how  much  less  expensive  com- 
petitive products  are.  He  does  that  because  he  is  a  good 
buyer.  A  salesman  hearing  this  from  day  to  day  is  bound 
to  get  the  idea  that  there  is  something  in  it,  and  then  he 
gets  the  feeling  that  his  is  a  high-priced  line;  that  he  is 
handicapped.  Live  salesmanagers  watch  this  point  some- 
times from  a  question  on  the  call  report  reading,  "Why 
didn't  he  buy?" 

By  taking  all  these  reasons  from  all  of  the  men  and 
distributing  them  under  territory  captions,  an  analysis 
will  show  what,  in  the  mind  of  the  salesman,  is  standing 
in  the  way  of  his  getting  business.  It  tends  to  show  the 
mental  hazards  that  obstruct  the  progress  of  salesmen  and 
gives  a  cue  to  the  salesmanager  as  to  the  kind  of  attention 
the  particular  salesman  needs.  So  far  as  the  totals  are 
concerned,  a  report  of  this  kind  shows  the  tendencies  as  a 
whole.  Such  a  report  is  a  pretty  good  barometer  to  show 
the  necessity  for  changes  in  policy  and  methods. 

The  Beaver  Board  Company  once  had  an  unusually  good 
illustration  of  the  extent  to  which  salesmen  allow  them- 
selves to  be  disturbed  unnecessarily  by  competitive  prices. 

As  a  result  of  an  insistent  demand  by  its  salesmen  for 


190  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

a  cheaper  product,  it  put  out  a  board  very  similar  to  a 
competitor's  at  a  price  five  per  cent  less,  or  about  twenty- 
five  per  cent  less  than  the  price  of  Beaver  Board.  When 
this  was  offered  to  the  trade  it  was  slow  to  buy  it,  and 
rather  showed  preference  for  the  trade-marked,  well-adver- 
tised Beaver  Board  at  the  higher  price.  Sales  on  the  low- 
priced  product  were  very  small  comparatively ;  it  has  been 
withdrawn  from  the  market  because  salesmen  found  that 
it  was  not  the  big  factor  they  had  anticipated. 

But  there  are  many  other  notions  developed  by  sales- 
men besides  the  high  price  bugaboo.  The  next  in  impor- 
tance and  frequence  is  dissatisfaction  with  the  product. 
They  want  further  models  or  styles  or  grades — quite  nat- 
urally, since  there  are  always  customers  desiring  individual 
special  merchandise  off  the  standard.  It  is  exceedingly 
hard  to  get  the  selling  type  of  mind  to  appreciate  the 
manufacturing  folly  of  too  many  styles  and  models.  The 
salesman's  chief  thought  is  to  please  each  customer  and 
to  sell  just  what  he  wants.  The  war-time  experience  among 
manufacturers  of  all  types  in  reducing  models  and  styles 
will  eventually  go  a  long  way  toward  eradicating  this  no- 
tion, but  for  a  period  of  years  it  will  nevertheless  be  a 
more  prominent  factor  than  ever  just  because  of  this  dras- 
tic reduction.  Only  a  limited  amount  of  argument  on  the 
subject  should  be  indulged  in;  it  is  a  good  rule  to  do  as 
little  arguing  as  possible  over  absolutely  fixed  policies. 

Salesmen  who  have  worked  for  other  firms,  especially 
firms  in  the  same  line,  develop  prejudices  and  notions 
which  are  especially  hard  to  eradicate.  For  this  reason 
some  firms  have  a  policy  of  refusing  to  hire  salesmen  who 
have  sold  the  same  line  of  goods  before. 

Salesmen  also  get  into  the  habit  of  evading  certain 
trade  that  they  don't  like.  They  may  have  some  personal 
grievance  or  they  may  just  be  prejudiced  against  the  per- 
sonnel.   Of  course,  a  system  of  checking  calls  against  lists 


MANAGING  SALESMEN'S  TEMPERAMENTS    191 

of  trade  shows  this  up.  In  cases  of  this  kind  it  is  necessary 
to  be  firm  and  in  some  cases  send  the  man  back  to  the 
town,  or,  if  possible,  go  back  with  him  in  order  to  get 
this  prejudice  out  of  his  mind. 

Salesmen  sometimes  feel  that  they  ought  to  favor  their 
trade  as  against  the  interests  of  the  house.  They  want 
to  give  unnecessary  datings,  advertising  concessions,  or  if 
prices  are  advanced  they  want  to  let  some  of  their  cus- 
tomers in  at  the  old  price.  A  case  in  illustration:  it  was 
decided  at  a  sales  convention  to  advance  prices  without 
notice,  and  a  really  good  salesman  went  out  and  wired  a 
number  of  his  best  customers  and  received  large  orders 
from  them.  He  was  a  good  salesman,  but  had  never  been 
completely  sold  on  the  idea  that  the  house  should  have 
first  consideration.  To  overcome  this  prejudice  is  largely 
a  matter  of  education.  The  salesman  must  be  drilled  into 
the  delicate  state  of  balance  whereby  he  sees  that  although 
the  interests  of  his  customer  are  paramount  in  general,  his 
first  direct  allegiance  is  to  his  house. 

143.  Wrong  Traditions  and  Superstitions  Among  Sales- 
men.— A  great  number  of  traditions  and  even  superstitions 
are  current  among  salesmen.  This  is  natural  in  a  business 
dealing  with  the  intangible,  and  in  a  profession  just  evolv- 
ing some  degree  of  organized  knowledge.  Many  of  these 
traditions  and  superstitions  are  heresay,  "hunches"  and 
hidebound  beliefs  and  omens,  but  others  are  the  relics  of 
teachers  and  writers  on  salesmanship  in  the  period  now 
happily  passing  when  many  peculiar  notions  were  held 
about  salesmanship. 

Still  others  are  merely  the  natural  outcroppings  of  the 
salesman's  type  of  mind,  reactions  to  his  job  which  proceed 
from  selfish  or  ignorant  or  misguided  motives.  Some  are 
conscious  and  openly  spoken  about  among  salesmen,  others 
are  unconscious.  For  instance,  the  tradition  about  work- 
ing on  Saturday.     It  has  been  impressed  upon  them  by 


192  MODERN  SALESIVIANAGEMENT 

hearsay  and  by  willing  belief  that  you  can't  do  business 
on  Saturday.  In  some  lines  it  is  true,  but  in  most  lines 
Saturday  is  about  as  good  as  any  other  day.  A  salesman- 
ager  who  makes  that  plain  to  the  man  when  engaging  him 
can  often  cure  it.  A  personal  demonstration  by  the  sales- 
manager  should  certainly  do  so. 

A  tradition  that  has  been  handed  down  among  sales- 
men and  which  has  the  support  of  some  salesmanagers  is 
that  a  salesman  when  he  had  made  a  sale  should  make  a 
' '  quick  get-away. ' '  This  is  incorrect,  particularly  in  a  line 
that  must  be  resold  or  where  its  proper  use  is  an  impor- 
tant factor. 

The  theory  is  that  if  the  salesman  remains  after  the 
sale  actually  has  been  consummated  there  is  a  danger  of 
the  customer  reconsidering  and  cancelling  the  order.  As 
a  matter  of  fact,  if  the  prospect  has  been  properly  sold 
there  is  no  danger,  and  if  he  hasn't  been  properly  sold 
it  is  better  for  the  house  that  the  order  be  cancelled  than 
that  a  disgruntled  customer  be  added  to  the  list.  If  the 
house  takes  a  firm  stand  in  matters  of  this  kind  it  will 
lead  to  the  salesman  spending  enough  time  with  his  cus- 
tomer after  the  sale  has  been  made  to  thoroughly  educate 
him  and  his  subordinates  in  the  talking  points  of  the  prod- 
uct, and  the  proper  way  to  use  the  service  features. 

One  of  the  worst  of  the  unconscious  tendencies  from  a 
result  standpoint  is  that  men  slow  up  sometimes  because 
they  feel  they  have  enough  business.  Many  men  go  along 
at  a  fine  pace  for  about  three  weeks  during  the  month  and 
then  fall  down.  It  is  largely  a  mental  condition — a  con- 
dition of  self-satisfaction.  Commission  men  are  especially 
amenable  to  this  trait,  proving  that  even  the  financial  in- 
centive is  not  sufiicient.  If  salesmen  are  made  to  feel 
that  they  are  working  by  week  rather  than  month  they  get 
into  the  habit  of  thinking  that  they  must  make  a  showing 
within  the  week  rather  than  within  the  month. 


MANAGING  SALESMEN'S  TEMPERAMENTS    193 

In  a  period  when  more  and  more  women  are  in  business 
it  is  well  to  speak  of  another  sharply  marked  tradition  or 
superstition,  that  of  not  desiring  to  sell  to  women.  Sales- 
men are  fairly  unanimous  in  this — they  do  not  like  to  sell 
to  women.  No  doubt  women,  being  by  natural  training 
closer  buyers  than  men,  are  hard  prospects,  but  there  is 
no  reason  for  believing  that  as  a  class  they  are  to  be 
avoided. 

Some  salesmen  have  a  superstition  that  they  know  in- 
stantly on  beholding  a  prospect  whether  or  not  they  can 
sell  him,  and  some  salesmen — especially  book  salesmen — ■ 
actually  leave  a  man  without  further  ado  after  having 
made  this  snap  judgment.  Others  less  extreme  have  a  no- 
tion they  can  tell  after  the  first  three  minutes  whether  a 
man  will  ever  buy. 

"Hunches"  and  superstitions  based  on  the  physical  ap- 
pearance of  a  prospect  are  also  common,  and  are  barriers 
to  business  rather  than  helps. 

There  is  another  tradition  which  may  very  easily  shorten 
a  salesman's  day.  A  man  is  supposed  to  be  in  a  more 
genial  and  receptive  mood  after  his  noon  meal,  and  big 
deals  are  sometimes  delayed  with  that  advantage  in  view. 
But  valuable  mornings  are  thus  given  less  value  as  noon 
approaches,  some  men  allowing  themselves  to  put  off  im- 
portant calls  until  afternoon,  whereas  the  longer  mornings 
are  of  much  greater  importance. 

Still  another  "time"  superstition  is  that  of  holidays. 
A  well-known  salesmanager  relates :  ' '  One  of  my  best  sales- 
men from  a  Coastal  territory  surprised  me  by  arriving  in 
New  York  about  a  week  before  Christmas  with  the  excuse 
that  he  had  placed  all  possible  business  and  could  not  se- 
cure attention  so  near  to  the  holidays.  I  had  an  open  terri- 
tory which  included  Washington,  and  under  plea  that  I 
wanted  him  to  show  an  Eastern  traveler  that  he  could  sell 
goods  equally  well  in  any  territory  I  sent  him  to  Wash- 


194  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

iiigton.  That  city  had  been  a  difficult  prospect,  but  I 
wanted  him  to  get  out  of  the  notion  that  goods  could  not 
be  sold  during  the  very  busy  season.  In  three  days  he 
'cleaned  up  the  town'  and  placed  more  goods  than  had 
been  sold  during  the  entire  year.  At  my  convention  of 
salesmen  in  the  following  January,  I  used  the  incident  as 
a  yevy  strong  proof  that  detennination  to  sell  is  a  habit 
of  the  mind  and  that  sales  are  possible  whenever  and 
wherever  a  man  has  the  will  to  put  them  over." 

144.  Dealing  with  the  Question  of  Drink  and  Over-Fond- 
ness for  Women. — These  being  the  typical  male  vices,  they 
are  ever-present  in  sales  organizations.  The  life  is  pecul- 
iarly open  to  just  these  temptations.  The  need  for  a  policy 
with  regard  to  them  is  soon  made  evident  in  any  organiza- 
tion employing  a  number  of  salesmen. 

As  for  drink,  the  testimony  is  fairly  universal  that  a 
man  who  for  a  period  of  years  has  let  liquor  interfere 
with  his  sales  work,  either  regularly  or  spasmodically,  is 
hopeless  so  far  as  real  reform  is  concerned.  According  to 
the  nature  and  temperament  of  the  man  he  will  keep  to 
the  straight  line  for  a  period,  long  or  short,  but  he  will 
get  back  to  it  again  sooner  or  later.  Many  splendid  sales- 
men have,  of  course,  been  saved  from  this  ruin  by  the 
vigilant  efforts  and  interest  of  a  good  salesmanager,  but 
the  work  is  often  disheartening. 

Now  that  prohibition  is  in  effect,  the  probable  tend- 
ency will  be  to  remove  temptation  to  a  large  extent,  prin- 
cipally by  making  drink  available  only  by  the  tedious 
backdoor  route.  The  treating  habit  and  the  enticement  of 
luxurious  bars  in  hotels  have  had  much  to  do  with  infect- 
ing the  sociable  salesman  type  of  mind  with  the  drink 
germ.  Salesmen  who  habitually  drink — and  this  means  if 
they  drink  more  than  a  very  little  indeed — are  more  and 
more  refused  any  jobs  whatever,  on  principle. 

The  question  of  women  is  considerably  more  delicate  and 


MANAGING  SALESMEN'S  TEMPERAMENTS     195 

different  policies  are  pursued,  according  to  the  personality 
of  the  salesmanager.  Some  ignore  all  private  life  matters, 
others  vigorously  interest  themselves,  in  the  spirit  of  a 
father  and  his  family  of  sons — in  the  relationsliips  of  their 
men.  They  bring  together  unhappy  man  and  wife  in  a 
fatherly  way ;  reason  with  men  who  are  known  as  habitual 
"chasers  after  women,"  Men  who  get  into  trouble  over 
women  sometimes  greatly  need  and  respond  to  help  from  a 
salesmanager ;  and  those  who  are  habitual  in  their  unde- 
sirable habits  with  women  are  best  handled  by  placing 
them  to  the  largest  possible  extent  in  association  with  men 
who  do  not  have  such  standards, 

145.  Salesmanagers  and  Their  Attitude  to  Habits  and 
Superstitions. — Nothing  has  so  far  been  said  about  the 
habits  and  traditions  of  salesmanagers,  which  must  neces- 
sarily radiate  from  the  House  to  men  on  the  road.  These 
are  sometimes  even  more  harmful  to  a  business,  because 
they  must  be  accepted  in  the  guise  of  policies  and  instruc- 
tions, and  often  there  is  no  one  in  sufficiently  high  author- 
ity to  exercise  control  over  them.  It  behooves  the  sales- 
manager  to  examine  his  own  traditions  and  habits  of  mind. 
It  is  w^ell  that  he  should  put  the  acid  test  on  customers  and 
policies  which  he  has  brought  with  him  from  former  busi- 
ness connections,  and  carefully  weigh  them  against  the 
needs  and  opportunities  of  a  newly  adopted  business  and  a 
different  grade  of  salesmen.  A  salesman  with  supersti- 
tions hurts  only  the  work  of  one  man ;  but  a  salesmanager 
with  prejudices,  set  habits  of  thinking  and  superstitions 
greatly  harms  his  men  and  his  firm  as  well. 

There  are  many  road  habits  which  are  based  on  self- 
indulgence,  love  of  comfort,  and  exalted  sense  of  privilege, 
all  of  which  are  hard  to  combat.  The  conditions  whicb. 
give  rise  to  such  habits  are  often  found  to  lie  so  closely 
to  sound  justification  that  the  arguments  advanced  in  de- 


196  aiODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

fense  are  stronger  than  the  salesman's  willingness  to  cor- 
rect them. 

Custom,  unchecked,  becomes  habit,  and  habit  soon  set- 
tles into  tradition.  Most  salesmanagers  follow  custom  in 
dealing  with  road  traditions  common  to  salesmen  at  large, 
and  are  disposed  to  remember  the  days  when  they  them- 
selves were  jealous  of  personal  privilege.  But  when  tra- 
ditions come  closer  home,  and  the  welfare  of  a  business  is 
affected  by  laxity  of  method  and  dullness  of  instinct,  then 
heroic  treatment  must  follow  proper  diagnosis,  and  cor- 
rective measures  cannot  be  too  firmly  enforced. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

SALES  SCHOOL  AND  TRAINING  METHODS 

146.  The  Eeasons  Behind  Intensive  Sales  Training. — Sales 
executives  who  have  no  special  methods  of  training  their 
salesmen  are  often  greatly  astonished  and  chagrined  v^hen 
they  have  an  opportunity  to  hear  their  men  talk  to  a 
prospect.  The  lack  of  knowledge  of  the  goods  of  the  house 
and  even  of  sound  principles  of  selling  are  often  appall- 
ing. This  can  be  demonstrated  very  easily  by  a  simple 
test.  Have  one  after  the  other  of  the  salesmen  come  into 
the  office  and  demonstrate  the  firm's  goods.  Have  a  ste- 
nographer take  down  what  each  says.  It  is  the  exception 
to  find  that  the  salesmen  of  any  house  will  agree  either 
upon  (1)  the  names  and  terms  used,  or  even  the  uses  and 
functions  in  describing  the  goods;  (2)  the  points  which 
should  be  stressed  most,  or  (3)  the  best  general  arguments 
for  purchase.  Furthermore,  their  fundamental  knowledge 
of  argument,  demonstration  or  the  other  elements  of  good 
salesmanship  will  be  found  either  (1)  to  be  greatly  de- 
ficient; (2)  to  be  garbled  and  carelessly  applied;  (3)  to 
be  robbed  of  value  because  of  emphasis  in  wrong  places 
and  lack  of  emphasis  upon  others. 

In  view  of  this  condition  it  has  for  years  been  recog- 
nized to  be  important  to  train  salesmen,  almost  if  not  quite 
in  the  sense  of  schooling  them.  When  this  idea  was  first 
applied,  it  naturally  ran  to  an  extreme.  Every  word  and 
gesture  was  standardized  until  salesmen  were  mere  par- 
rots or  talking  machines.     Modification  of  this  idea  has 

197 


198  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

come  about,  so  that  individual  treatment  is  regarded  as 
important;  but  general  sales  training  is  nevertheless  re- 
garded as  essential. 

The  need  for  schools  for  salesmen,  which  is  now  felt 
among  a  great  many  lines  of  business,  may  be  said  to 
spring  from  the  following  conditions: 

1.  The  passing  of  the  day  of  pure  personality  as  equip- 
ment to  get  business;  the  realization  that  salesmen  are 
made,  not  merely  born. 

2.  The  more  scientific  purchasing  attitude  among  busi- 
ness men  of  all  kinds. 

3.  Closer  competition,  requiring  more  definite  detailed 
knowledge  of  a  sales  proposition. 

4.  Larger  organization  of  salesmen  becoming  unwieldy 
and  without  unity,  unless  centrally  trained. 

5.  Greater  appreciation  of  the  reality  of  the  good-will 
value  of  well-defined  house  policies,  which  cannot  be  up- 
held except  through  systematic  drilling  of  salesmen. 

6.  Appreciation  of  the  many  kinds  of  knowledge  which 
are  valuable  and  applicable  in  sales  work. 

7.  Consideration  of  the  fact  that  young  salesmen  need 
a  reservoir  of  personal  inspiration  and  development  to 
draw  upon,  and  that  a  sales  school  makes  such  a  reservoir. 

8.  Realization  that  with  a  standardization  of  the  sales 
arguments  and  methods,  salesmen  can  greatly  increase  effi- 
ciency. 

9.  The  fact  that  sales  schools  are  an  interesting  means 
of  getting  various  valuable  things  done  at  the  same  time — 
such  as  judgment  of  personal  character ;  diplomatic  train- 
ing in  minor  details,  checking  up  of  branch  sales  work,  etc. 

147.  Why  More  Sales  Schools  Have  Not  Been  Established. 
— As  there  are  not  a  very  great  many  sales  schools  in  oper- 
ation it  is  pertinent  to  inquire  why  there  are  not  more 
in  existence: 

1.     Because  they  have  been  thought  too  costly. 


SALES  SCHOOL  AND  TRAINING  METHODS     199 

2.  Because  they  have  been  thought  too  difficult  to 
operate  satisfactorily. 

3.  Because  of  the  practice  of  many  salesmen  of  getting 
the  training  and  then  going  somewhere  else  at  higher  salary 
on  the  strength  of  it. 

4.  Because  of  the  idea  that  the  schools  were  apt  to  be 
impractically  adjusted  to  real  sales  work  and  not  a  paying 
proposition. 

5.  Because  of  the  difficulty  of  getting  good  men  to  run 
the  school. 

There  are  now,  however,  bound  to  be  many  more  sales 
schools,  since  the  greater  need  for  salesmen  makes  neces- 
sary, on  the  one  hand,  the  active  development  of  many 
additional  salesmen,  while,  on  the  other  hand,  the  in- 
creased high  standards  desired  among  salesmen  will  weed 
out  others  who  will  need  to  be  replaced.  Y.  M.  C.  A.'s, 
colleges  and  high  schools  are  giving  much  attention  to 
classes  in  selling,  and  provide  good,  reliable,  raw  material 
for  further  intensive  training  in  a  firm 's  own  methods  and 
standards. 

Sales  "schools"  may  be  of  many  kinds  and  degrees — 
from  a  full-fledged  school,  complete  in  grades  and  details, 
to  merely  a  Saturday  afternoon-get-together,  a  correspond- 
ence course  from  the  home  office,  or  a  week's  trip  to  head- 
quarters. 

148.  Preventing  Sales  Schools  from  "Pauperizing  Sales- 
men."— An  objection  to  the  school  for  salesmen  idea  is  the 
danger  of  pauperizing  the  salesmen.  This  means  that  sales- 
men are  likely  to  acquire  the  habit  of  getting  things  for 
nothing  from  the  company  and  they  will  be  more  or  less 
demoralized  in  the  long  run.  This  objection  has  to  be 
met  by  careful  preparation.  The  salesman  should  be  made 
to  pay,  in  some  way,  for  the  things  the  company  does  for 
him.  The  methods  of  making  him  participate  in  the  cost 
of  making  him  a  good  salesman  are  interesting. 


200  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

One  method  is  to  require  him  to  buy  for  himself  certain 
books  which  are  used  in  the  course  of  instruction.  Still 
another  method  is  a  direct  assessment  upon  each  salesman 
for  the  maintenance  of  the  general  school,  so  that  the  school 
itself,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  is  run  by  the  salesmen 
themselves.  This  can  be  done  more  nominally  than  really, 
for  in  actuality  the  firm  is  the  real  support,  simply  al- 
lowing the  salesmen  to  contribute  to  a  very  large  degree. 

In  fact,  the  plan  of  making  the  sales  school  a  goal  to 
be  achieved  rather  than  a  routine  forced  upon  candidates 
is  valuable  from  two  points  of  view;  (1)  it  whets  the  ap- 
petite for  the  thing,  and  (2)  it  holds  back  those  who  would 
gain  a  good  firm's  sales  training  only  to  leave  when  it  is 
finished  and  connect  elsewhere. 

The  National  Cash  Register  plan  has  much  to  recom- 
mend it  in  this  respect:  No  salesman  is  permitted  to  get 
the  advantages  of  the  school  unless  he  has  shown  some 
preliminary  ability  on  the  road  under  a  trained  salesman. 

The  principle  that  people  never  appreciate  what  they 
do  not  at  least  partly  pay  for  holds  good  of  sales  schools. 

149.  The  Type  of  Instructors  Necessary. — This  is,  of 
course,  one  of  the  most  important  elements,  on  which  de- 
pends success  or  failure  in  sales  schools.  The  word  school 
is  really  unsafe  to  use  in  connection  with  sales  training, 
because  it  works  harm  on  the  minds  of  both  the  instructor 
and  the  students.  The  methods  of  public  school  teaching  are 
in  the  main  inapplicable  to  sales  schools,  and  for  this  rea- 
son it  is  a  very  dangerous  experiment  to  use  a  school- 
master type  to  teach  salesmen.  In  the  usual  school  teach- 
ing methods  not  enough  attention  is  paid  to  individual  de- 
velopments, whereas  in  any  school  for  salesmen  this  must 
be  the  principle  most  strongly  stressed.  Not  only  must 
the  methods  and  principle  of  teaching  be  correct  in  such 
a  sales  school  in  order  to  get  results,  but  the  personality 
of  the  teacher  must  be  of  the  right  kind,  as  students  of 


SALES  SCHOOL  AND  TRAINING  METHODS    201 

salesmanship  are  naturally  in  a  receptive  state  of  mind 
and  are  easily  influenced  by  the  type  of  personality  which 
directs  them.  There  is  usually  a  predominant  streak  of 
the  feminine  in  a  great  many  of  the  men  who  are  avail- 
able to  act  as  teachers,  and  quite  as  often,  in  addition, 
they  are  somewhat  colorless  in  personality  and  do  not  in- 
cite their  students  to  initiative,  individuality  and  enthu- 
siasm. It  is  a  necessity  in  a  teacher  of  a  sales  school  that 
he  must  be  able  to  inspire  a  moderate  degree  of  enthu- 
siasm, and  to  have  enough  of  personal  magnetism  to  in- 
duce a  similar  magnetism  in  those  under  him  by  careful 
treatment. 

Naturally  it  is  too  much  to  expect  to  get  the  most  highly 
successful  salesmen  to  be  teachers,  consequently  it  would 
be  foolish  merely  to  make  teachers  out  of  good  salesmen. 
The  ability  to  impart  information  and  to  conduct  a  course 
of  study  in  a  manner  that  gets  over,  is  a  technical  ability 
of  some  proportion  in  itself.  In  fact,  it  is  dangerous  to 
permit  any  one  man  to  handle  the  entire  work  of  a  school, 
simply  because  no  one  man  can  possibly  be  the  rounded 
personality  which  a  school  aiming  at  ideal  sales  ability 
would  require. 

The  best  method  is  to  have  as  good  a  teacher  as  it  is 
possible  to  get,  and  then,  in  addition,  bring  in  for  special 
lectures  or  talks  officers  of  the  company,  the  salesmanager, 
the  president,  etc,  also  selected  salesmen  from  the  staff, 
and  also  sales  counselors  or  specialists  or  good  talkers  on 
selling  from  any  outside  source.  Until  a  good  man  to 
operate  a  sales  school  is  secured  it  might  just  as  well  not 
be  started, 

150.  Methods  and  Curricuhuns. — What  the  students  of  a 
sales  school  are  to  study  is  necessarily  of  extreme  impor- 
tance. In  past  years  before  sales  schools  were  better  un- 
derstood, much  nonsense  passed  as  instruction  in  selling, 
Ofttimes  all  that  the  course  amounted  to  was  a  hip,  hip. 


202  ]\IODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

hoorah  stj'le  of  enthusiasm,  development  of  the  old-time 
hypnotic  notion  and  standards  of  salesmanship,  with  some 
special  "hunches"  and  superstitions  with  regard  to  how  to 
size  up  your  prospect,  etc. 

The  increased  knowledge  of  selling  has  necessarily 
broadened  the  curriculum  of  a  sales  school.  It  has  brought 
out  the  fact  that  various  branches  of  special  study  are 
necessary  if  salesmen  are  really  to  be  properly  trained. 
Among  the  subjects  which  now  constitute  a  logical  line  of 
study  for  salesmen  are: 

1.  General  business  principles. 

2.  Advertising. 

3.  Retail  selling. 

4.  Record  keeping. 

5.  Organization. 

6.  Credit. 

7.  The  product. 

8.  Psychology. 

9.  Voice  and  expression, 

10.  Hygiene  and  health  on  the  Foad. 

An  analysis  of  the  above  ten  subjects  for  general  study 
at  a  school  for  selling  will  make  clear  the  breadth  of 
knowledge  which  a  modern  salesman  requires  and  which 
really  almost  compels  the  existence  of  a  sales  school  if 
the  average  run  of  salesmen  are  to  be  brought  up  to  a 
high  grade  of  ability.  Few  average  salesmen  are  thor- 
oughly up  to  date  on  all  of  these  subjects,  even  though 
they  have  fairly  good  knowledge  about  them.  Progress 
has  been  so  rapid  in  all  of  these  branches  of  knowledge, 
that  the  average  situation,  even  among  the  better  grade  of 
salesmen,  is  that  they  are  not  up  to  par.  There  is  an 
impression  among  salesmen  that  only  the  younger  or  be- 
ginning kind  of  salesmen  need  a  sales  school.  The  best 
practice  is  that  every  salesmen  is  assumed  to  need  the 


SALES  SCHOOL  AND  TRAINING  METHODS    203 

school  training,  and  one  of  the  best  methods  of  treatment 
of  a  school  is  to  have  the  officers  of  the  company  them- 
selves set  an  example  by  taking  the  course  at  such  a  school, 
in  order  to  demonstrate  that  it  is  a  mere  matter  of  routine 
for  bringing  everybody  up  to  date,  and  that  it  is  far  from 
an  admission  of  weakness  to  take  such  a  course. 

The  general  paraphernalia  to  be  used  in  a  school  has 
also  some  importance.  The  National  Cash  Register  Com- 
pany has  made  famous  its  system  of  charts  for  the  walls 
of  the  school,  so  that  every  important  point  that  is  to  be 
made  is  put  in  graphic  form  on  the  wall  so  that  it  can  be 
imbibed  through  more  than  one  of  the  five  senses.  A 
graphic  chart,  especially  if  it  shows  forms,  diagrams  and 
pictures,  is  immensely  valuable.  The  stereopticon  is  also 
valuable  for  just  this  purpose.  The  National  Cash  Reg- 
ister Company  has  also  advanced  this  theory  to  the  high- 
est degree  by  placing  before  salesmen  an  actual  replica 
of  a  grocery  store,  and  going  through  an  actual  sale  in 
this  store  upon  a  stage  with  actors. 

As  for  the  time  in  which  a  proper  curriculum  can  be 
covered,  this  varies  of  course  with  the  nature  of  the  busi- 
ness and  its  complicated  features.  From  four  to  six  weeks, 
however,  is  universally  regarded  as  a  sensible  length  of 
time. 

151.  Examinations  and  Certificates  of  Passage. — In 
schools  where  a  number  of  subjects  such  as  are  listed  above 
are  covered,  it  is  usually  the  best  policy  to  have  examina- 
tions immediately  following  the  conclusion  of  the  study 
of  this  branch.  The  examination  is  conducted  in  usual 
school  fashion,  in  the  form  of  a  combination  of  questions 
testing  memory,  and  also  a  thesis  which  will  record  the 
mental  grasp  of  the  pupil  on  the  subject  in  general. 

The  pupil  who  fails  to  achieve  a  certain  percentage — 
say  75% — is  obliged  in  the  best  schools  to  go  over  that 
branch  again  as  a  special  duty  without  stopping  the  study 


204  MODERN  SALESIVIANAGEMENT 

on  the  course  which  is  to  follow,  until  he  has  caught  up  and 
increased  his  standing.  It  is  well  to  point  out,  however, 
that  the  percentages  attained  by  students  are  not  wisely 
used  in  determining  the  status  of  the  candidate  in  his 
ability  as  a  salesman.  Experience  has  uncovered  the  fact 
that  many  who  make  fair  or  average  percentages  in  ex- 
aminations are  ofttimes  better  salesmen  than  those  who 
make  high  marks.  An  examination  percentage  must  be 
regarded  merely  as  one  indicator  of  ability. 

As  for  certificates  of  passage,  a  diploma  seems  to  be  not 
altogether  in  favor,  but  a  card  for  passage  is  usually  fur- 
nished. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

SALES  STRATEGY 

152.  The  Right  Definition  of  Selling  Strategy.— There  is 
a  vagueness  about  the  term  "strategy"  which  makes  for 
lack  of  appreciation  of  it  on  the  one  hand,  and  an  over- 
rating of  it  on  the  other  hand.  It  isn't  craftiness  or 
cunning  in  any  illegitimate  sense;  it  is  a  logical  and 
necessary  tool  for  working  with  selling  factors  as  they 
exist.  Properly  and  correctly  defined  from  the  dictionary, 
it  is  the  use  of  finesse  to  accomplish  an  object;  and  the 
use  of  finesse  is,  after  all,  but  an  artful  use  of  the  factors 
of  human  nature,  circumstance  and  place. 

Sales  matters  very  frequently  indeed  "turn  upon  hairs." 
Moods,  manners,  events,  states  of  mind,  weather,  vanities, 
passions  and  instincts  all  make  up  the  mass  of  resistance, 
which  must  be  influenced  and  moulded,  in  dealers,  job- 
bers and  consumers,  for  to  such  an  extent  is  selling  a 
matter  of  intangibles.  Not  only  conscious  resistance  but 
unconscious  resistance  is  met  with;  much  of  it  so  strong 
and  stubborn  that  it  would  be  fatal  folly  to  endeavor  to 
make  a  direct  frontal  attack.  It  would  no  more  be  suc- 
cessful than  endeavoring  to  sail  a  boat  "in  the  teeth  of 
the  wind."  Tacking  is  merely  practical,  necessary  nauti- 
cal strategy;  similarly  many  sales  campaigns  must  be  zig- 
zagged to  success  with  strategy. 

Thus  the  term  strategy  as  here  used  denotes  all  those 
very  real  factors  in  selling  which  are  diploraatical,  politi- 
Qal,  psychological,  and  which  call  for  experience  in  life, 

205 


206  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

affairs,  human  nature,  basic  economic  laws,  averages,  prob- 
abilities, patience,  offensives  and  defensives,  circumlocu- 
tions and  analytical  foresight. 

153.  The  Various  Kinds  of  Strategy. — First  of  all,  there 
is  a  broad  and  a  narrow  conception  of  strategy.  There  are 
many  people  in  business  who  use  a  very  narrow  conception 
of  strategy,  more  on  the  order  of  expediency  than  broad 
strategy. 

An  example  of  the  use  of  broad  strategy  is  the  case  of 
the  Standard  Sanitary  Mfg.  Company.  When  that  com- 
pany made  up  its  mind  to  sell  America  a  large  volume 
of  bath  tubs  in  the  face  of  a  slow  market  a  decade  or  two 
ago,  there  were  a  great  number  of  plumbers  in  the  busi- 
ness who  couldn't  even  install  a  bath  tub.  They  knew 
nothing  of  modern  plumbing  sanitation  science.  Plumb- 
ing as  understood  nowadays  is  a  rather  complicated  engi- 
neering proposition,  but  this  evolution  did  not  take  place 
until  the  Standard  Sanitary  Mfg.  Company  had  spent 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  to  educate  plumbers 
in  a  course  of  instruction  delivered  by  mail.  An  edu- 
cational campaign  for  higher  technical  standards  among 
plumbers  was  a  great  success.  The  result  was  that  they 
were  able  to  sell  bath  tubs  and  bath  fixtures  in  the  right 
manner  and  develop  a  large  market  for  their  product. 
That  was  broad  strategy;  an  example  of  looking  ahead 
many  years ;  something  which  has  brought  permanent  divi- 
dends to  the  company. 

Narrow  strategy,  on  the  other  hand,  deals  with  some- 
thing that  will  be  of  advantage  to-morrow  rather  than 
fifteen  years  from  now.  One  might  call  the  two  kinds 
long  time  and  short  time  strategy.  The  short  time  strategy 
is  careless  of  basic  conditions,  operates  on  the  surface 
and  with  little  information  or  principle  or  policy.  If  one 
is  out  for  profit  now  at  the  expense  of  the  future,  or  if 
one  has  no  care  for  the  cultivation  work  needing  to  be 


SALES  STRATEGY  207 

done  to-day  in  order  that  larger  business  is  to  be  reaped 
to-morrow,  long  time  strategy  is  of  no  interest. 

The  more  technical  classifications  of  the  different  varie- 
ties of  strategic  policies  or  tools  available  are : 

1.  Strong  direct  action. 

2.  Indirect  action. 

3.  Secret  action. 

4.  Complicated  series  of  moves. 

5.  Confusing  or  feint  moves. 

6.  Wedge  action. 

7.  Defensive  action. 

8.  Educational  strategy, 

9.  Time  annihilation  strategy. 

10.  Good-will  strategy, 

11.  Distribution  strategy. 

12.  Domination  strategy. 

13.  Caveat  strategy, 

154.  Direct  Action  or  "Offensive"  Strategfy. — The  most  sim- 
pie  form  of  effort  against  an  opposing  force  is  mass  num- 
bers, and  brute  force.  It  is  of  very  great  strategic  value 
at  times.  Here  is  an  example:  Years  ago  Hood's  Sarsa- 
parilla  was  caught  in  a  peculiar  situation.  A  small  com- 
petitor had  discovered  a  sales  plan  which  was  "burning 
up  the  country"  with  success,  and  the  Hood  concern  won- 
dered how  they  should  meet  the  situation.  The  line  of 
strategy  finally  decided  upon  was  to  take  the  plan  right 
from  that  small  competitor's  hands.  The  plan  the  com- 
petitor used  wasn't  a  patented  plan  of  any  sort,  but  merely 
a  good  piece  of  strategy.  The  Hood  people  didn't  allow 
it  to  get  very  old.  The  moment  they  decided  it  was  good 
they  took  that  piece  of  strategy  right  out  of  the  hands  of 
the  small  comp..titor  and  developed  it.  They  improved  it, 
enforced  it,  featured  it,  and  used  all  their  force  behind  it, 
and  did  in  a  big  way  what  the  small  competitor  could  do 


208  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

ouly  in  his  small  way.  They  got  all  the  credit  and  most  of 
the  advantages.  Another  name  for  this  type  of  strategy 
might  be  an  offensive  strategy,  as  opposed  to  defensive 
strategy'. 

More  simple  examples  are  merely  those  of  operating  a 
campaign  with  especial  vim  and  emphasis,  so  as  to  give 
it  added  zest  and  momentum.  A  thing  done  with  vigor 
develops  an  atmosphere  of  success  and  confidence ;  inspires 
wholesome  respect  in  opponents  and  often  lends  a  magic 
which  to  some  extent  paralyzes  opposition.  Motion  has  a 
certain  degree  of  hypnotism  in  it ;  the  springing  tiger,  the 
racing  horse,  the  athlete  in  action  all  have  fascination  in 
their  very  intensity  of  purpose  and  will.  The  presence  of 
strong  dynamic  will  tends  to  make  everything  surrounding 
it  static  and  passsive.  An  exceedingly  positive  man  tends 
to  turn  the  minds  about  him  into  a  negative  mood.  Offen- 
sive strategy  during  the  recent  war  has  demonstrated  how 
vital  "morale"  is  in  an  offensive. 

So  in  a  sales  campaign,  strategy  is  vital  even  in  com- 
mon direct  action.  Defects  in  this  strategy  betray  fatal 
initial  weakness, 

155.  Indirect  Strategy. — This  kind  of  strategy  is  fitted 
to  selling  like  a  glove  to  a  hand,  because  sales  objectives 
can  rarely  be  accomplished  by  mere  direct  action.  (If  they 
could,  there  would  be  many  more  millionaires,  and  sales 
brains  would  not  be  worth  good-sized  salaries.)  Goods  do 
not  sell  by  direct  action,  or  they  would  practically  sell 
themselves.    Markets  must  always  be  wooed  and  won. 

Indirect  strategy  means  moves  that  are  altogether  round- 
about. Searches  must  be  made  for  the  ''key  log"  in  the 
jam  of  resistance  to  wider  sales,  and  pressure  must  be 
exerted  at  strategic  points.  There  are  many  interesting 
examples.  The  Standard  Oil  Company  sells  oil  lamps  and 
until  recent  years  oil  stoves.  It  is  not  a  paying  business 
in  itself,  but  by  such  indirect  strategy  they  are  creating 


SALES  STRATEGY  209 

a  greater  consumption  of  oil.  They  couldn't  permit  lamps 
of  perhaps  doubtful  utility  to  be  the  only  ones  available, 
because  that  would  hurt  the  sale  of  oil;  but  by  indirect 
action  of  providing  suitable  lamps  they  push  up  the  sale 
of  oil — even  in  the  wilds  of  China, 

The  Globe  -  Wernicke  Company  is  another  example 
The  sale  of  book-cases  depends  upon  the  desire  on  the  part 
of  the  people  to  read  and  the  practice  of  having  books  in 
the  home.  It  was  obvious  that  if  Globe-Wernicke  could 
develop  a  greater  desire  for  books  in  the  home,  they  would 
sell  more  book-cases;  so  they  started  an  interesting  cam- 
paign and  got  out  very  handsome  literature  on  choosing 
books,  in  which  they  told  of  the  good  books  which  ought  to 
be  in  your  home,  and  didn't  even  mention  book-cases. 
Many  thousand  book-cases  were  sold  in  this  way. 

The  fact  of  the  matter  is  that  the  psychology  of  the 
public  is  such  that  the  effect  of  direct  action  frequently 
would  be  antagonistic.  Indirect  action  is  the  more  natural 
action,  because  life  itself  is  more  or  less  indirect  in  shaping 
things.  For  example,  the  man  who  fishes  directly  for  a 
dinner  invitation  usually  doesn't  get  it.  The  most  ener- 
getic effort  frequently  counts  for  naught,  while  a  gentle 
or  merely  suggestive  action  secures  great  response. 

It  is  one  of  the  first  principles  of  study  of  life  and 
human  nature  that  it  is  a  waste  of  effort  and  worse  to 
be  too  direct.  People  are  willing  to  be  led  and  to  be 
taught  if  it  is  not  made  too  obvious;  they  are  willing  to 
grant  superior  wisdom  if  the  fact  isn't  held  in  front  of 
their  eyes.  Direct  opposition  merely  arouses  stubborn- 
ness and  vindictiveness.  It  is  both  foolish  and  unneces- 
sary to  run  counter  to  the  prejudices  and  habits  of  peo- 
ple— to  say  nothing  of  being  ruinously  expensive — to  try 
to  influence  them  in  that  manner,  even  granting  it  might 
eventually  be  accomplished.  The  good  strategist,  diplo- 
matist^ always  searches  for  the  more  graceful  time,  temper 


210  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

and  pride-saving  method — the  indirect  methods.  In  but  few 
instances  do  such  indirect  methods  not  exist.  If  the  dealer 
or  the  public  won't  buy  your  goods,  there's  a  reason;  find 
it  and  remedy  it  directly,  or  get  around  it  indirectly. 

156.  Secret  Action  Strategy. — This  is  a  plain  practical 
necessity  under  certain  conditions.  It  simply  means  the 
preparation  under  cover  for  a  move  whose  object  would 
be  frustrated  by  publicity.  Usually  this  means  desire  to 
surprise  competition  by  arriving  first  at  a  new  goal.  It 
is  not  an  extensively  useful  kind  of  strategy  in  these  days 
of  welcome  of  publicity,  and  of  public  reports  and  the 
open  door  to  customers.  Too  much  secrecy  has  character- 
ized business  as  sinister  in  the  past,  and  for  no  real  pur- 
pose or  gain.  Premature  disclosure  is,  of  course,  unde- 
sirable, and  secret  action  has  its  definite,  practical  part  to 
play.  To  "steal  a  march"  on  an  opponent  will  always 
remain  good  strategy, 

157.  Complicated  Series  Strategy. — Events,  circumstances 
and  people  have  a  strategy  of  their  own,  simply  in  their 
reaction  upon  one  another  over  a  period  of  time  of  ebb 
and  flow  and  evolution.  Shrewd  business  forecasters,  stu- 
dents of  fundamental  conditions,  and  speculators  in  mar- 
kets are  strategists  in  this  sense,  that  they  endeavor  to 
work  out  a  connected  chain  or  series  of  inter-related  fac- 
tors of  cause  and  effect  and  anticipate  a  final  result. 

The  sales  strategist  differs  from  these  in  this  important 
aspect — that  he  studies  a  complicated  series  of  factors,  but 
initiates  moves  with  the  view  of  having  the  resulting  events 
come  out  as  he  desires  them.  The  salesmanagers  for  the 
linen  collar,  safety  razor  or  ready-made  clothes  advertisers 
who  laid  long-time  plans  to  change  the  daily  habits  and 
psychology  of  American  men,  were  business  analysts  with 
a  faculty  for  complicated  series  strategy,  or  else  had  mere 
blind  faith. 

There  are  business  men  who  are  Fochs  and  Von  Moltkes 


SALES  STRATEGY  211 

in  business  strategy.  Their  minds  are  like  a  champion 
chess  player's.  They  can  see  many  removes  beyond  the 
immediate.  There  were  those  who  could  see  the  future  of 
the  steel  business,  who  saw,  as  IMorgan  did,  the  develop- 
ment of  the  mechanical  industries,  the  development  of  the 
by-products  industries,  the  development  of  general  manu- 
facturing and  its  call  for  automatic  machinery,  and  all 
the  other  things  which  foreshadowed  the  great  develop- 
ment of  the  steel  industry.  The  Morgan-Schwab  con- 
structive type  of  mind,  gifted  with  ability  to  see  the  com- 
plicated moves  ahead,  could  easily  see  a  50,000,000-ton  an- 
nual volume  of  steel  (a  prediction  which  Schwab  made  in 
1903  or  lOOi  and  was  laughed  at),  but  Morgan  and  Schwab 
saw  the  moves  ahead  and  proved  they  were  the  real  strate- 
gists in  the  steel  business  by  preparing  for  the  market 
they  foresaw. 

In  selling  there  are  so  many  fine-cut  factors,  such  ap- 
parently unexpected  developments,  delicate  considerations, 
variable  conditions  and  seemingly  invisible  elements  that  a 
salesmanager  who  has  a  really  difficult  proposition  needs 
to  have  in  himself  or  in  counsel  a  mind  capable  of  work- 
ing out  future  development  through  the  complicated  series 
type  of  strategy. 

158.  Confusing  or  "Feint"  Strategy. — This  is  a  branch  of 
secret  action  strategy,  with  the  added  factor  of  endeavor- 
ing to  make  the  opponent  guess  wrongly.  It  is  of  use 
mainly  in  tight  competitive  situations,  for  of  course  neither 
confusion  nor  misleading  plans  are  part  of  any  honest 
modern  firm's  policies  with  distributors  or  consumer.  It 
is  good  business  to  keep  a  competitor  "guessing"  in  one 
way  or  another,  and  it  is  not  hard  to  accomplish,  since 
it  is  human  nature  for  average  competitors  in  business  to 
ascribe  inflated  and  sinister  motives  to  each  other,  and  to 
be  credulous  as  to  each  other's  plans  to  circumvent  each 
other. 


212  MODERN  S^VLESMANAGEMENT 

It  is  also  legitimate  to  permit  to  grow  unmolested  an 
erroneous  impression  which  a  competitor  has  developed  as 
to  a  firm's  real  purpose  or  goal  or  plan  or  basis  of  opera- 
tion. Similarly  it  is  good  business  to  endeavor  to  keep  a 
competitor's  attention  away  from  the  weaknesses,  if  any, 
of  a  firm's  goods,  organization,  territory  or  plan.  If  the 
false  impression  as  to  these  matters  can  be  strengthened 
by  a  "feint"  it  is  also  good  business. 

There  is  one  kind  of  ''confusing  strategy"  to  which  I 
should  not  hesitate  to  give  the  stamp  of  legitimacy — 
whether  used  on  the  consuming  public  or  on  a  narrower 
audience.  It  might  be  called  a  strategy  of  name.  A  name 
or  phrase  often  damns  a  thing  prematurely  and  unfairly, 
or  at  least  creates  a  fatal  opening  prejudice.  A  so-called 
lard  or  butter  "substitute"  suffers  from  the  implication 
of  inferiority  to  that  which  it  displaces;  it  is  far  better 
strategy  to  give  the  article  a  special  individual  name  and 
avoid  the  substitute  thought.  Similarly  it  was  good  name 
strategy  for  Calox  tooth  powder  to  call  its  sample  a  "child's 
size"  instead  of  the  repellant  name  sample.  The  example 
of  Van  Camp's  Evaporated  Milk,  in  making  capital  out 
of  the  prejudice  against  a  certain  burnt  taste  common  to 
all  such  products,  by  calling  it  "that  burnt  almond  taste" 
was  good  strategy,  though  conscientious  regard  for  truth 
must  be  kept  foremost  in  all  such  strategy.  "When  a  weak 
point  exists  it  is  good  strategy  to  distract  attention  from 
it  by  emphasis  upon  the  strong  points. 

159.  Wedge  Action  Strategy. — To  effect  entry  way,  a  thin 
edge  is  always  most  efScient.  One  man  or  one  article  can 
go  through  opposition  more  easily  than  a  number.  This 
applies  to  the  strategy  of  selling  a  "family"  of  articles, 
and  illustrates  a  very  valuable  principle  of  merchandising. 

Take,  for  instance,  a  concern  like  Hammacher-Schlem- 
mer  Hardware  Company,  which  features  home  tools,  or  any 
other  concern  which  singles  out  some  popular  product  to 


SALES  STRATEGY  213 

feature  and  push,  and  lets  everything  else  in  the  line  fall 
behind  it.  The  National  Biscuit  Company  put  forward  the 
Uneeda  Biscuit  as  a  wedge  and  then  forced  an  entire  line 
of  goods  behind  the  Uneeda  wedge.  The  Loose-AYiles  Com- 
pany, its  competitor,  saw  the  futility  of  any  action  which 
would  aim  to  parallel  what  had  been  done  with  the  Uneeda 
Biscuit.  If  they  had  taken  their  Sunshine  biscuit  and  tried 
to  drive  through  an  entire  line  in  the  same  way  they  would 
have  failed.  It  would  not  have  achieved  the  result  desired 
because  the  surprise-value  was  gone.  They  pushed,  in- 
stead, a  whole  line  of  higher-priced,  higher-quality  spe- 
cialties not  featured  by  the  National,  and  let  the  Sunshine 
biscuit  follow  along.  Their  strategy  was  directly  contrary 
to  that  taken  by  the  National  Biscuit  Company,  but 
equally  sound. 

The  human  mind  is  so  constituted  that  it  cannot  imagine 
clearly  a  numerous  line  of  products.  It  cannot  conceive 
more  than  one  or  two  things  at  one  time.  Therefore,  a 
wedge  strategy  in  selling  is  sound,  with  reasonable  varia- 
tions and  exceptions. 

160.  Defensive  Strate^. — It  is  often  just  as  good  strat- 
egy to  "sit  tight"  and  do  nothing  as  to  act.  It  is  also 
excellent  strategy  many  times  to  make  no  reply  to  critics, 
no  reply  to  attacks,  and  to  permit  an  opponent  to  spend 
his  strength.  Of  course,  as  Foch  has  said  in  military  mat- 
ters, the  offensive  is  preferable  to  the  defensive,  but  a  de- 
fensive strategy  may  nevertheless  be  best  at  times.  The 
success  of  defensive  strategy  turns  upon  watchfulness, 
coolness  and  receiving  an  offensive  in  the  most  prepared 
way  possible — that  preparedness  including  preparation  for 
defeat. 

A  salesmanager  may  find  himself  in  a  more  or  less  per- 
manent position  of  compulsion  to  maintain  a  defensive  be- 
cause of  certain  legal,  competitive,  inherent  or  special  con- 
ditions.   All  his  plans  and  further  strategy  must  in  such 


214  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

cases  be  grouped  about  the  central  strategy  of  a  defensive. 
All  sales  effort  must  in  such  cases  have  an  underlying 
motif  of  defense;  and  future  goals  and  plans  built  on  that 
foundation. 

In  the  ordinary  course  of  normal  business,  however,  a 
defensive  may  be  merely  a  temporary  strategic  attitude, 
made  advisable  by  the  turn  of  events  or  of  competition. 

161.  Educational  Strategy. — Wise  analysis  of  a  market- 
ing situation  more  frequently  than  not  discloses  that  the 
article  must  go  through  a  process  of  growing  up  with  a 
new  generation,  who  will  make  it  a  part  of  its  every-day 
life.  If  not  this  extreme  of  slow  development,  then  at  least 
a  period  of  five  or  ten  years  of  gradual  education  of  the 
public  to  the  real  value  of  the  article.  The  first  reaction 
of  a  public  to  a  new  thing  is  invariably  that  of  antag- 
onism or  distrust  or  disinterest,  even  of  fear.  The  only 
hope  of  making  the  article  welcome  and  desired  is  to 
achieve  familiarity  not  only  with  its  name  but  with  its 
advantage.  Some  articles  have  a  better  start  than  others 
in  the  fact  that  their  advantages  are  much  more  obvious 
or  else  appeal  successfully  to  stronger  desires.  The  edu- 
cational period  necessarily  differs,  therefore,  between  ar- 
ticles; it  is  actuall}^  possible  to  measure  this  difference 
fairly  accurately. 

The  educational  line  of  strategy  is  a  simple  one  then,  of 
coolly  preparing  for  "sending  the  public  to  school"  on  the 
question,  and  watch  it  pass  from  the  primary  grade  up- 
ward until  it  reaches  a  more  or  less  fully  educated  stage, 
when  large  volume  is  possible.  A  significant  thing  about 
the  educational  strategy,  however,  is  that  it  is  never  fin- 
ished because  of  the  millions  of  human  beings  dying  and 
growing  up  every  year.  An  article  that  requires  educa- 
tional work  requires  it  all  the  time,  as  a  permanent  polic5\ 
All  the  principles  and  methods  in  the  old  science  of  peda- 


SALES  STKATEGY  215 

gogy,  the  profession  of  teaching,  apply  and  can  be  adapted 
and  used  in  this  educational  work. 

Educational  strategy  is  in  a  sense  an  underlying  strategy 
for  almost  every  selling  proposition,  and  must  to  some  de- 
gree, therefore,  be  used  and  applied  even  when  it  is  not 
the  leading  or  dominant  strategic  note.  All  selling  is  in 
essence  an  educative  process. 

162.  Time  Annihilation  Strategy. — Quite  the  opposite  of 
the  slow  educational  strategy  is  the  strategy  of  applying 
every  energy  and  skill  to  accomplishing  the  greatest  amount 
in  the  smallest  possible  time.  This  strategy  may  be  de- 
sirable for  any  one  of  a  number  of  reasons,  such  as: 

1.  A  desire  to  ** unload"  a  specific  model  or  quantity 
of  goods  before  a  certain  date  for  patent  expiration;  or 
for  other  legal  or  competitive  reasons. 

2.  A  desire  to  attain  leadership  by  the  quick  rather 
than  by  the  slow  method. 

3.  A  desire  to  secure  a  psychological  advantage  of  swift 
strokes,  whether  for  competitive  or  other  reasons. 

Time  may  actually  be  ''annihilated"  in  the  selling  sense 
by  means  of  well-conceived  and  well-executed  strategy  of 
this  kind.  Five  years'  normal  accomplishment  may  be  at- 
tained in  one  year,  and  at  perhaps  half  the  cost.  For  this 
reason  the  modern  rate  of  speed  of  growth  is  highly  ac- 
celerated. Slow  face  growth  is  now  supplanted  by  the 
contrary  policy.  The  aim  of  this  strategy  is  to  put  the 
public  and  the  distributors  through  the  processes  of  mind 
that  would  ordinarily  take  five  years  in  one — which  means 
the  same  as  rushing  a  pupil  through  the  grades  in  school, 
and  has  the  same  dangers.  It  is  an  extremely  delicate 
operation  and  usually  fails  in  any  but  very  careful  hands. 
Speed  is,  in  selling  as  in  railroading  and  everything  else. 
a  magic  thing  when  successful,  but  the  faster  the  speed  the 
more  easily  the  whole  train  is  wrecked. 

Many  situations  call  for  and  invite  pretty  spee<iy  work. 


216  MODERN  SALESIMANAGEMENT 

and  to  a  certain  extent  time  annihilation  is  a  generally 
good  business  policy.  The  stage  coach  manner  of  business 
development  is  as  passe  as  the  stage  coach  in  transporta- 
tion. There  is  no  reason  why  a  business  to-day  should 
covet  the  centuries  or  generations  of  past  history  boasted 
of  by  some  concerns ;  splendid  business  reputations  can  be 
developed  in  a  few  years,  and  great  sales  organizations 
achieved  in  a  short  time.  The  magic  of  rapid  factory 
erection  and  rapidity  of  manufacturing  production  on  a 
large  scale  have  produced  an  actual  demand  on  selling 
genius  that  large  volume  of  trade  and  large  sales  organiza- 
tion be  achieved  with  equal  rapidity.  Otherwise  selling 
could  not  keep  pace  with  mechanical  inventive  genius. 
After-war  conditions  calling  for  very  rapid  displacement 
of  commercial  orders  for  war  orders,  and  new  markets  for 
new  factory  capacity  also  call  for  such  ability  to  annihi- 
late time. 

The  sales  strategy  which  annihilates  time  necessarily  uses 
the  printed  page  very  extensively,  the  printing  press  being 
in  itself  a  great  annihilator  of  time.  It  also  uses  planning 
and  system  to  a  large  degree,  almost  with  a  military  pre- 
cision and  discipline.  The  greatest  time  annihilating  cam- 
paign in  history  is,  of  course,  the  stupendous  American 
preparation  for  war.  After  that  successful  demonstration 
time  annihilation  work  should  be  familiar  to  American 
brains,  and  a  thoroughly  certified  policy. 

163.  Goodwill  Strategy. — There  are  a  number  of  situa- 
tions which  call  mainly  for  the  largest  possible  amount  of 
public  good -will.  Actual  sales  are  secondary;  public  atti- 
tude is  all-important.  Public  service  corporations  are  in- 
variably in  this  condition,  but  manufacturing  firms  often 
also  need  this  line  of  strategy  more  than  any  other.  During 
the  time  of  Sherman  anti-trust  law  prosecutions  this  was 
a  necessary  line  of  defense  against  a  general  frenzy  of 
antagonism  to  large  corporations.    At  all  times,  large  cor- 


SALES  STRATEGY  217 

porations  who  have  a  dominant  position  in  an  industry  or 
have  other  precarious  political  considerations  to  meet,  find 
good-will  development  in  their  service,  their  advertising 
and  even  in  labor  relationships  a  sound  policy.  Good" 
will  strategy  is  one  of  wide  and  deep  ramifications. 

There  is  another  purpose  for  which  good-will  strategy 
is  sometimes  used  for  a  very  practical  purpose — to  heighten 
the  sales  valuation  of  a  concern,  preliminary  to  selling  out. 
A  concern  which  has  never  advertised  to  dealers  or  public 
may  actually  add  33  1-3%  to  its  valuation  by  a  year  oi 
two  of  capable  good-will  development  of  a  highly  eon^ 
centrated  kind,  as  an  article  known  to  its  ultimate  con-" 
sumers  is  worth  more  than  an  article  unknown.  The  same 
is  true  as  a  preparation  for  expansion  or  readjustment. 

164.  Distribution  Strategy. — As  distribution  conditions 
are  often  the  main  element  of  resistance  toward  greater 
expansion  and  development,  it  frequently  becomes  advis- 
able to  reexamine  and  readjust  the  distribution  policy. 
The  broad  strategic  position  of  an  article  or  a  firm  or  an 
industry  determines  the  strategic  policy  to  be  pursued. 
It  is  very  important  that  the  exact  strategic  position  be 
known  and  understood,  as  failure  to  visualize  the  position 
from  a  strategic  viewpoint  and  on  a  broad  enough  scale 
is  the  chief  difficulty  in  the  way  of  wider  growth  of  many 
concerns.  Or,  if  the  strategic  situation  is  recognized,  there 
is  lack  of  courage  and  decision  in  formulating  a  strategic 
policy  and  carrying  it  out  consistently. 

Such  a  strategy  might  be  that  of  giving  the  distributors 
an  exceptionally  large  margin  of  profit,  or  of  ignoring  the 
jobber  and  concentrating  on  direct  selling;  or  of  rigidly 
adhering  to  the  jobber,  or  of  "straddling"  diplomatically 
on  a  definite  plan ;  or  of  reducing  the  margins  to  jobbers, 
or  of  developing  an  exclusive  wholesale  agency  policy,  or 
of  utilizing  exclusive  dealers  in  small  towns  and  "broad- 
^,asting"  in  the  cities,  or  of  eliminating  quantity  discounts, 


218  MODERN  SALESIMANAGEMENT 

or  establishing  arbitrary  definitions  for  jobbing  classifica- 
tions, or  of  making  price  zones,  or  equalizing  prices  na- 
tionally. Tliere  is  even  a  special  strategy  in  "getting 
over"  a  piece  of  distribution  strategy. 

These,  and  many  others  are  distribution  strategics,  all 
demanding  careful,  disinterested  investigation  first  and 
clear-headed  planning  and  cool  and  firm  application. 

Conditions  constantly  change,  form  and  crystallize 
around  a  firm,  and  only  thorough  analysis  and  sure-footed 
action  can  save  a  firm  from  suffering  from  lack  of  a 
strategic  policy.  No  mere  dependence  on  "hammering 
along  the  old  lines"  or  "patiently  plugging  away"  will 
fit  the  modern  swift-moving  pace. 

165.  Lomination  Strategy.- — In  business,  as  everywhere 
else,  there  constantly  operates  the  competition  of  good- 
will, service,  standing  and  public  psychology.  It  is,  of 
course,  a  highly  valuable  thing  to  "dominate"  a  field — ■ 
using  the  term  not  in  an  autocratic  sense,  but  in  a  psycho- 
logic sense. 

Domination  is  a  peculiar  thing.  It  is  a  bit  of  psychology 
which  has  perhaps  more  to  do  with  big  sales  success  than 
anything  else.  Human  nature  being  what  it  is,  people  like 
to  deal  with  the  successful.  They  figure  that  if  they  are 
going  to  buy,  they  would  prefer  to  buy  of  the  firm  most 
prominent  and  successful.  That  is  a  very  difficult  thing 
for  a  "second  fiddle"  sales  force  to  meet.  Nothing  so 
depresses  a  sales  force  as  the  fact  that  its  competitor 
dominates  the  field  and  it  is  representing  only  a  "second 
fiddle."  But  it  is  the  trend  of  the  times  that  a  "second 
fiddle"  may  become  the  "first  fiddle,"  brought  about  by 
careful  lines  of  strategj^  laid  and  carried  out  in  a  thorough 
manner.  So,  whether  you  are  first  or  second,  you  need 
strategy  more  than  you  need  anything  else.  If  you  are 
fortunate  enough  to  dominate  the  field,  there  is  usually 
another  concern  very  close  to  you,  and  your  job  is  to  main- 


SALES  STRATEGY  219 

tain  dominance.  One  big  new  development  may  put  you 
second  in  the  field.  There  are  striking  examples  of  con- 
cerns which  have  for  years  dominated,  hut  who  are  now 
being  crowded  very  hard  by  young  firms.  Hart,  Schaffner 
&  IMarx  Company  overthrew  the  domination  of  the  old 
leader  in  men's  clothing.  Several  young  oil  companies 
are  crowding  the  Standard  Oil. 

A  well-laid  strategy  of  domination  does  not  mean  op- 
pression for  competitors,  or  cut-throat  competition,  as  it 
meant  in  the  old  days  of  "predatory  business" — to-day  it 
means  dominating  by  service,  brains,  good-will  and  ability 
to  keep  the  customer  believing — by  giving  him  good  rea- 
sons to  believe — that  you  are  dominant  in  the  manner  he 
likes. 

166.  "Caveat"  Strategy.— " Being  there  first"  is  always 
an  important  selling  strategy.  This  is  so  important  a  busi- 
ness truth  that  nowadays  patents,  trademarks  and  general 
business  advantages  and  rights  are  hinged  largely  on  the 
public  conception  of  who  is  first  rather  than  upon  who  has 
the  formal  legal  protection.  Even  a  trademark's  rights 
in  the  legal  sense  are  based,  not  upon  registration  at  Wash- 
ington, but  upon  "priority  of  use" — that  is,  who  iised  it 
first,  regardless  of  who  registered  it  first.  This  is  inher- 
ently a  public  sense  of  fair  play,  and  as  such  is  an  impor- 
tant item  in  sales  strategy.  Patents  may  be  dubious  or 
even  unobtainable  for  an  interesting  idea,  but  if  you  can 
fix  your  prior  connection  with  it  in  the  mind  of  the  pub- 
lic, you  have  practically  "filed  a  caveat"  with  the  public 
which  holds  good  as  long  as  you  defend  your  claim  to  it. 

A  good  instance  is  the  Thermos  bottle.  Before  it  was 
put  on  the  market  it  was  recognized  that  it  was  not  pos- 
sible to  protect  it  basically  by  patents.  The  vacuum  is  a 
principle  open  to  all  inventors.  It  was  quite  certain  that 
dozens  of  other  companies  would  jump  into  the  field  the 
minute  Thermos  was  a  success.    The  strategic  thing  before 


220  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

the  president  of  that  company  was  to  figure  out  the  best 
means  of  protecting  good -will  at  the  start.  He  "filed  a 
caveat  with  the  public"  instead  of  the  patent  office.  He 
meant  by  this,  getting  to  the  public  first  through  adver- 
tising. 

When  you  start  selling,  the  very  first  piece  of  strategy 
to  be  accomplished  is  to  get  your  special  arguments  thor- 
oughly associated  with  your  name.  Then,  when  competi- 
tors  tag  along  after  you,  they  will  look  like  * '  also  rans. ' ' 


CHAPTER  XX 

THE  SERVICE  PRINCIPLE  IN  SELLING 

167.  Service  as  the  Central  Keynote  in  Sales  Building. — 
Under  modern  plans  and  knowledge  of  selling,  it  is  no 
great  accomplislunent  to  make  sales  ance.  The  important 
part  of  salesmanagement  is  to  keep  sales  going  and  grow- 
ing. This  is  only  possible  through  regular,  satisfied  cus- 
tomers— "consumer  acceptance"  as  it  is  now  called.  This 
is  possible  only  when  service  is  made  more  important  than 
the  sale  itself;  when  the  state  of  mind  of  the  customer 
and  the  value  he  gets  out  of  his  purchase  are  made  para- 
mount in  the  sales  plan. 

Much  is  said  about  service,  but  too  much  is  often  boast 
and  mere  language.  The  public  in  general,  having  grad- 
ually been  educated  in  service,  is  becoming  more  and  more 
discriminating,  and  visits  its  prejudice  and  hostility  upon 
the  mere  braggarts  of  service. 

Service  rendering  means  more  than  an  intention  or  an 
abstract  principle  subscribed  to.  To  carry  out  sound  serv- 
ice policies  is  a  technique  of  considerable  detail  and  diffi- 
culty. It  is  very  easy  to  fall  into  laxities  and  inconsist- 
encies and  an  extremely  hard  piece  of  organization  work 
to  carry  service  principles  through  to  ultimate  users  down 
the  line  of  a  large  organization.  This  technique  of  service 
depends  on  a  number  of  policies  which  are  herewith  out- 
lined in  detail.  Elsewhere  in  this  book  mention  is  made 
of  the  fact  that  to-day  the  public  desires  almost  as  much 
service  in  connection  with  its  merchandise  as  it  wants 

221 


222  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

merchandise.  As  one  firm  has  put  it,  "we  sell  50%  mer- 
chandise and  50%  service."  There  is  a  sane  limit,  of 
course,  in  merging  service  with  merchandise,  and  the  war 
has  deflated  much  over-pretension  in  this  respect ;  but  serv- 
ice cannot  possibly  be  weaned  from  merchandise — the  pub- 
lic wants  it  in  at  least  a  33  1-3%  ratio. 

168.  Goods  Must  Render  the  Service  the  Customer  Expects 
of  Them. — The  modern  principle  of  business  ethics  is  that 
the  other  party  to  the  transaction  must  receive  benefit  and 
must  have  plenty  of  reasonable  cause  to  be  satisfied.  In 
other  words,  the  advantages  of  the  transaction  must  be 
mutual.  This  is  a  feeling  which  is  revising  the  whole  busi- 
ness life  of  the  country — that  the  spirit  of  a  transaction 
must  be  a  mutual  spirit,  rather  than  what  is  known  as 
"caveat  emptor"  ("let  the  buyer  beware").  The  cus- 
tomer's expectation  is  a  very  highly  important  part  of 
modem  sales  and  advertising,  for  it  is  easy  to  sell  once 
by  raising  extravagant  expectations,  but  not  so  easy  to  sell 
twice.  For  most  propositions  profit  is  never  made  on  the 
first  sale — only  on  the  second  and  succeeding  sales.  It  is 
a  wonderful  good-will  maker  if  the  buyer's  realization  ac- 
tually exceeds  expectation. 

169.  Service  Should  Be  Rendered  Spontaneously. — This 
means  that  we  should  render  our  service,  not  in  the  spirit 
of  "we  will  go  as  far  as  we  must,"  but  with  that  larger 
point  of  view  which  is  always  the  finest  point  of  view — 
"we  will  go  the  whole  way  in  service."  The  conservative 
safeguards  which  are  really  necessary  can  be  applied  with- 
out destroying  this  policy,  or  without  making  it  seem  re- 
luctant or  half-hearted.  It  is  very  important  that  a  service 
policy  be  made  inviting  and  liberal,  so  that  a  customer 
may  feel  like  using  it  without  seeming  to  ask  for  more 
than  he  is  entitled  to.  The  fact  of  the  matter  is  that 
modern  people  hate  doing  business  on  the  tight  principle 
—they  hate  to  heckle  and  demand — they  far  prefer  to  do 


THE  SERVICE  PRINCIPLE  IN  SELLING     223 

business  in  a  very  liberal  atmosphere  of  trust  and  guar- 
antee. 

The  very  best  proof  of  this  is  that  Sears,  Roebuck  & 
Co. — not  many  years  old,  but  now  doing  over  a  hundred 
million  dollar  a  year  business — was  founded  on  nothing 
else  whatever  but  this  idea  of  people's  preference  for  the 
liberal  atmosphere.  Mr.  Sears  had  no  capital  except  this 
idea,  which  was  almost  absolutely  new  in  merchandise  at 
that  time,  especially  to  rural  folk.  Complete  and  liberal 
guarantee  of  service  with  the  merchandise  is  still  the  chief 
feature  of  this  house,  and  has  been  its  best  advertisement 
from  the  time  of  Mr.  Sears'  famous  encounter,  early  in  his 
career,  with  the  street  car  conductor,  who  had  by  accident 
smashed  a  watch  he  had  bought,  but  to  his  astonishment 
got  a  new  one  without  complaint.  Of  course,  that  con- 
ductor became  a  living  advertisement  for  Mr.  Sears — who 
had  never  before  bought  such  cheap  advertising!  It  pays 
to  go  the  whole  way  in  service  if  one  takes  care  to  do  it 
spontaneously. 

170.  Promises  Should  Be  TJnconditionally  Made  Good. — 
Many  concerns  fall  down  here.  They  "hedge"  on  tech' 
niealities.  Their  promises  are  conditioned  by  reservations 
which  the  buyer  only  finds  out  when  he  tests  the  promise. 
It  is  absolutely  deadly  to  hedge  in  this  manner,  or  to  make 
the  fulfillment  of  the  promise  a  hardship  or  annoyance  in 
any  way  to  the  consumer.  A  big  business  man  in  New 
York  bought  some  collars  at  a  good  store  which  adver- 
tises a  liberal  policy.  He  found  the  size  not  exactly  right. 
He  took  them  back  unused,  explained  and  asked  for  his 
money  back.  The  clerk  replied,  after  listening,  "Well, 
you'll  have  to  see  Mr.  Number  Two,"  and  he  had  to  ex- 
plain all  over  again.  Mr.  Number  Two  then  said, ' '  We  will 
have  to  see  Mr.  Number  Three."  He  waited  a  consider- 
able time  to  see  that  Mr.  Number  Three.  His  time  being 
very  valuable,  he  gave  it  up — and  he  also  gave  up  that 


224  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

store,  which  could  have  afforded  to  stop  its  whole  ma- 
chinery for  a  day  rather  than  lose  this  man's  trade. 

People  do  not  like  protestations  of  liberality,  which, 
when  put  to  the  test,  mean  annoyance  and  red-tape  and 
unexpected  delay  and  lack  of  the  same  enthusiasm  and 
interest  as  when  the  sale  was  made.  We  are  buying  not 
merchandise  but  merchandise  plus  service.  Indeed,  it 
would  often  seem  that  we  care  more  for  the  service  than 
the  merchandise !  At  least,  it  makes  a  more  vital  impres- 
sion on  us,  for  it  has  to  do  with  our  sensitive  hwmin  nature, 
and  that  is  a  factor  which  service,  policy  and  good-will 
have  generally  to  deal  with.  "We  may  have  worked  out  to 
a  fine  degree  a  policy  and  plan  for  our  selling,  but  we 
may  have  left  out  that  vital  principle  of  the  sensitive 
human  spirit  with  which  we  have  to  reckon. 

Good-will,  actually,  is  nothing  else  but  your  status  with 
the  sens'tive  human  spirits  from  whom  your  trade  must 
come.  Good-will  is  an  evanescent,  intangible  thing,  sim- 
ply because  it  depends  solely  on  this  sensitive  human  spirit, 
which  is  so  easily  effected  and  swayed  and  prejudiced.  The 
study  of  good-will  is  necessarily,  therefore,  a  study  of  mass 
psj^chology,  and  a  study  of  bringing  an  organization  to 
efficiency  in  carrying  out  the  full  spirit  of  the  serA'ice  and 
guarantee,  down  to  every  last  factor  in  the  organization. 

One  of  the  chief  troubles  nowadays  with  those  who  sell 
through  dealers  and  sub-agents  or  many  lower-grade  sales- 
people, is  that  they  are  not  able  to  carry  intact  the  spirit 
of  their  policy  and  service  to  the  ultimate  buyer.  This 
very  reason  is  behind  the  complete  taking  over  of  all  the 
channels  of  distribution  by  many  concerns,  like  the  meat 
packers,  the  typewriter  concerns,  etc.  They  could  not  sell 
with  any  success  whatever  through  a  string  of  interme- 
diaries as  other  products  can — service  is  the  whole  thing. 
It  becomes  deeply  essential  that  both  from  a  mechanical 
point  of  view,  in  repairs  and  consultation,  etc.,  that  serv- 


THE  SERVICE  PRINCIPLE  IN  SELLING     225 

ice  be  carried  out  in  its  full  spirit  to  the  end,  without  the 
house  being  discredited  by  variations  from  the  standard. 

171.  Service  Should  Be  Without  Risk  or  Convenience  to 
the  Customer. — The  principle  of  risk  is  very  interesting  in 
this  question  of  good- will  policy;  yet  it  is  a  principle  few 
have  adequately  studied.  Here  is  an  incident  which  will 
illustrate  it:  A  certain  manufacturer  of  automobile  head- 
lights, who  was  selling  them  by  mail,  published  an  adver- 
tisement in  which  he  stated  that  if  you  sent  $25,  he 
would  ship  his  wonderful  new  invention.  It  was  a  very 
good  ad,  but  it  did  not  pull  well.  After  analysis,  this 
became  apparent:  Why  should  any  one  write  out  a  check 
for  $25  for  an  unheard  of  invention  and  send  it  to  an 
unknown  man,  1,000  miles  away?  That  is  against  the 
sound  principles  of  risk.  People  do  not  care  to  take  such 
risk;  what  reason  have  they  for  taking  it? 

Study  carefully  this  principle:  the  risk  of  purchasing 
properly  helongs  upon  the  seller  and  not  on  the  purchaser. 
The  buyer  of  merchandise,  according  to  our  modem  prin- 
ciples of  risk,  should  assume  no  risk  whatever  in  securing 
and  proving  what  is  claimed  for  the  goods.  That  is  the 
seller's  proper  sphere,  for  he  alone  knows  the  goods  best, 
and  he  is  the  aggressive  party  in  the  sale.  It  is  up  to  him 
to  give  the  purchaser  the  freest  and  most  open  opportunity 
to  substantiate  the  advertised  value  and  service  before  he 
assumes  any  risk. 

When  the  selling  plan  on  that  headlight  was  changed, 
and  the  man  advertised  "Send  me  no  money,  but  write 
me  on  the  letter-head  of  your  firm  and  I  will  send  you  this 
headlight  for  thirty  daj's'  trial  on  your  machine,  and  if 
you  are  satisfied  send  me  your  check;  if  not,  I  will  pay 
transportation  both  ways, ' '  he  was  successful.  The  risk  was 
thrown  on  him,  where  it  belonged.  There  are  many  peo- 
ple who  stand  aghast  at  such  liberality,  but  selling  to  car 
owners  is  gilt  edge  compared  to  other  propositions.    There 


226  MODERN  SALESIVIANAGEMENT 

are  concerns  who  sell  washing  maclimes  on  credit  to  the 
poorest  type  of  Irish  washerwoman,  through  advertising, 
shipping  the  machine  without  a  cent  of  deposit,  yet  the  per- 
centage of  dishonesty  is  not  more  than  one-half  of  one  per 
cent.  Of  course,  there  is  a  safeguard  to  the  plan.  They 
do  look  up  the  woman  through  her  grocer,  but  very  few 
are  turned  down.  Experience  shows  that  people  of  one 
class  are  as  honest  as  another  class;  also  are  as  honest  in 
one  part  of  the  country  as  another,  and  that  in  any  event 
those  who  wish  to  beat  you  manage  it  in  some  way  any- 
how. In  a  sales  proposition  intelligently  planned  there 
is  rarely  more  than  one-half  of  one  per  cent  misuse  of 
liberality. 

172.  Service,  to  be  Efficient,  Should  be  Rendered  Entirely 
from  the  Point  of  View  of  the  Customer. — A  guarantee  may 
be  perfectly  meaningless  and  pointless.  For  instance,  an 
underwear  manufacturer  may  guarantee  his  garment  to  last 
"a  year,"  whereas  the  cheapest  and  most  inferior  gar- 
ment (unless  the  man  is  a  dock  laborer)  usually  lasts  a 
season.  The  ''year"  does  not  mean  anything.  Such  a 
guarantee  might  much  better  be  left  off.  When  sized  up 
by  critical  customers  it  will  show  on  its  face  that  it  is  in- 
tended merely  to  sound  well  to  unthinking  customers,  and 
not  really  for  the  protection  of  the  seller. 

The  service  policy  should  be  engineered  to  forestall  com- 
plaints. Much  service  goes  wrong,  simply  because  it  is 
arbitrarily  planned,  without  realizing  that  certain  condi- 
tions do  or  will  arise,  or  that  certain  states  of  mind  should 
be  anticipated,  in  either  the  language  or  application  of  the 
policy. 

Service  rendered  should  be  in  the  spirit  of  individual  ac- 
commodation. Service  is  always  a  joke  when  it  is  petti- 
coated  in  red  tape.  It  must  serve,  and  to  serve  it  must 
judge  each  individual  case  and  render  individual  service. 
Nothing  makes  good-will  as  fast  as  this. 


THE  SERVICE  PRINCIPLE  IN  SELLING     227 

Service  should  relieve  the  customer  of  physical  effort. — 
I  have  already  told  how  peeved  was  a  customer  who  had 
to  "stand  around"  to  get  the  service  due  him.  A  warn- 
ing against  this  is  sufficient,  perhaps.  Selling,  properly 
viewed,  is  filling  a  customer's  definite  need — not  selling 
him  because  you  want  to — not  overloading  him  v^dth  some- 
thing of  doubtful  use  or  value  to  him.  It  is  not  a  legiti- 
mate sale  if  he  does  not  need  what  you  sell  him.  This  is  a 
principle  more  and  more  recognized,  and  many  concerns 
give  standard  instructions  to  a  salesman  that  they  are  not 
to  overload  anybody  to  whom  they  sell.  A  weak  retailer 
or  customer  with  less  experienced  mentality,  on  whom  the 
salesman  may  call,  is  sometimes  overpowered  by  a  superior 
mind  and  sales  skill.  It  is  Twt  an  ethical  proposition  to 
make  such  a  man  huy.  Any  salesman  or  salesmanager  who 
boasts  of  "putting  it  over"  on  a  man  and  making  him  buy 
something  which  will  mean  a  loss  or  an  inconvenience  or 
being  saddled  with  an  inappropriate  value,  is  a  highbinder 
salesman  bound  to  get  his  due  soon  or  late. 

173.  Service  Should  Provide  Full  Technical  Informatiooi 
and  Advice. — We  are  now  ready  to  consider  the  subject  of 
service  through  information  and  advice.  Nearly  all  cus- 
tomers represent  a  state  of  mind  rather  than  a  mind  made 
up.  They  are  not  even  conscious  of  needs,  frequently.  In- 
formation must  waken  them  to  their  need  and  advice  must 
guide  them  in  purchase.  Now,  in  order  that  the  customer 
shall  be  able  to  make  up  his  mind  logically  as  to  what  he 
needs,  modern  sales  management  provides  an  equipment  to 
salesmen  that  will  enable  them  to  advise  and  technically 
inform  the  customer.  It  is  an  exceedingly  important  thing 
for  the  salesman  not  only  to  know  the  merchandise  from 
the  manufacturing  point  of  view,  but  also  from  the  usage 
point  of  view.  The  buyer's  interest  in  merchandise  nat- 
urally is  not  in  how  many  and  what  processes  it  goes 
through,  except  in  relation  to  results  he  may  enjoy  from 


228  MODERN  SALESIVIANAGEMENT 

that  merchandise — the  service,  in  other  words.  The  serv- 
ice he  may  derive  from  its  use — is  the  immediately  im- 
portant thing  to  the  huyer,  and  he  looks  to  the  salesman 
to  know  his  subject  in  detail  and  scientifically.  Nothing 
is  so  irritating  as  to  find  a  salesman  just  a  salesman,  and 
not  a  guide  and  helper. 

Ser^'ice  should,  if  possible,  anticipate  the  wants  of  the 
patrons.  There  should  be  studious  analysis  of  the  kind  of 
service  likely  to  prove  helpful  and  welcome  to  customers. 

174.  Service  Should  Express  Personal  Relationship. — 
Every  human  being,  no  matter  how  intelligent  he  may  be, 
wants  personal  attention.  And  personal  attention  may  be, 
and  is  oftentimes,  the  heart  and  soul  of  the  service  ren- 
dered. That  is  so  in  the  English  and  French  retail  shops 
abroad,  where  the  small  places  hold  their  own,  for  the  sim- 
ple reason  that  in  the  large  stores,  personal  attention  is 
lacking.  In  the  personal  service  idea,  the  small  shops  excel 
beautifully.  This  principle  can  be  carried  into  the  selling 
of  anything,  no  matter  how  large  the  organization.  Only 
poor  salesmauagement  will  prevent  success  in  this,  for  in- 
herently it  is  the  cheapest  sales  ammunition  there  is.  It 
is  true  that  purchasing  has  become  a  science — j^et,  all  sci- 
entific things  being  equal,  personal  attention  and  personal 
touch  may  tip  the  scales.  And  when  I  say  "personal 
touch,"  I  do  not  mean  "good  fellowship."  I  would  be  the 
last  to  return  to  the  days  when  large  sales  forces  had  "offi- 
cial souses"  who  managed  the  customers  who  liked  "good 
times."  I  mean  personal  touch  which  gives  scrupulous 
care  to  the  customer's  slightest  special  needs,  to  the  pe- 
culiar position  he  personally  faces  in  his  organization  (oft- 
times  a  difficult  one,  due  to  factions  and  unprogressive- 
ness)  to  the  peculiar  nature  of  business,  and  to  everything 
else  that  individually  makes  that  customer  different  from 
other  customers. 

175.  Service  Should  be  Closely  Defined   and  Definitely 


THE  SERVICE  PRINCIPLE  IN  SELLING     229 

Stated. — Any  service  which  deals  in  generalities  is  sure  to 
fail.  Any  good-will  built  upon  generalities  is  sure  to  fade 
like  a  puff  of  smoke,  for  generalities  are  as  dangerous  in 
selling  as  dynamite.  They  explode  and  wreck  things  unex- 
pectedly, aU  because  the  generalities  meant  one  thing  to 
seller  and  another  to  buyer.  All  selling  is  based  on  ap- 
pealing to  the  imagination  of  the  buyer.  You  first  develop 
in  him  an  attractive  picture  of  what  he  is  going  to  get. 
You  ask  for  his  money  and  render  him  back  the  picture  of 
value.  In  other  words,  you  are  operating  on  his  expecta- 
tions, and  your  picture  that  you  give  him  must  be  so  clear 
that  it  doesn't  fog  up  his  mind  so  that  when  the  fog  lifts 
he'll  think  he's  been  deceived.  It  is  a  most  serious  thing 
for  the  customer  to  imply  from  words  or  picture  or  any- 
thing not  sufficiently  specific  that  he's  to  get  what  he  is 
not  going  to  get.  Therefore,  be  very  specifically  definite, 
be  wholly  inclusive.  Clearly  define  the  policy  and  service, 
even  under  possible  unpleasant  contingencies,  then  there 
can  be  little  misunderstanding,  and  it  is  certainly  not  from 
misunderstandings  that  good-will  grows  or  sales  mount  in 
volume. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  GOOD-WILL 

176.  Definition  of  Good-Will. — English  jurisprudence  has 
established  a  clear  basis  for  the  recognition  of  the  factor 
of  good-will.  It  is  unquestionably  property,  even  if  not 
tangible  property.  To  define  it  is  naturally  hard.  Lord 
Eldon,  a  great  jurist,  called  it  "a  probability."  Other 
legal  authorities  have  variously  defined  it  as  "advantage," 
"favor,"  "advantage  and  benefit."  Amplifying  his  defi- 
nition, Lord  Eldon  said  good-will  is  "nothing  more  than 
the  probability  that  the  old  customers  will  resort  to 
the  old  place."  A  significant  statement  about  good-will, 
even  if  it  is  not  a  definition,  is  that  "many  things  enter 
into  the  making  of  good-will,  but  just  one  thing  may 
blast  it." 

Good-will,  of  course,  can  attach  itself  to  name  or  per- 
son, to  place,  to  goods,  and  its  definition  in  any  given  case 
must  be  tempered  by  the  thing  it  has  attached  itself  to. 
Every  advantage  acquired  by  a  firm  in  carrying  on  its 
bxisiness  is  included  properly  in  a  definition  of  good-will. 

177.  The  Nature  of  Good-Will. — Many  large  concerns 
have  capitalized  good-will  into  common  stock  running  into 
many  millions.  But,  good-will  is  not  a  tangible  asset. 
Good-will  is  an  asset  which  is  real,  but  volatile,  like  steam 
or  g£is.  You  must  keep  producing  it  all  the  time,  and  at 
any  minute  it  may  all  explode.  Good-will  is  a  thing  sub- 
ject to  being  here  to-day  and  gone  to-morrow.  If  any- 
body tried  to  insure  good-will  at  Lloyd's  he'd  be  quoted  a 
pretty  high  rate.    You  can  protect  good-will,  but  you  can 

230 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  GOOD-WILL       231 

never  insure  it.  You  can  insure  or  borrow  money  on  your 
factory,  but  you  can  never  take  good-will  to  a  banker  and 
borrow  money  on  it — credit  principles  forbid  it. 

Why  is  this?  Because  control  of  the  seller's  good-will 
is  the  only  protection  which  the  buying  public  holds  for 
itself.  Withholding  of  good-will  is  the  weapon  which  the 
customer  maintains  against  you.  He  gives  it  to  you  or 
takes  it  back,  according  as  you  conduct  yourself.  Conse- 
quently, any  effort  either  to  underestimate  or  overestimate 
good-will  is  inadvisable.  It  must  be  judged  like  other  as- 
sets, because  it  is  state  of  mind,  not  matter.  Its  develop- 
ment is  therefore  as  much  an  art  as  a  science,  and  for  this 
reason  the  ordinary  standards  do  not  apply — it  is  a  mat- 
ter for  special  genius.  The  advertising  idea  is  the  one 
most  adapted  to  it  and  has  been  the  most  remarkably 
successful  with  it,  proving  that  good-will  making  can  be 
speeded  up  enormously  by  right  methods. 

178.  Good-Will  and  Advertising  Departments. — It  may 
well  be  repeated  here  that  the  salesman  deals  with  the  dif- 
ferences ietween  people,  but  the  advantage  man  studies  the 
likenesses  of  people.  The  sales  department  knows  how  best 
to  create  good-will  in  Tom  Jones  or  some  other  individual ; 
the  advertising  manager  knows  how  to  reach  all  the  Joneses, 
Smiths  and  Browns.  The  development  of  good-will  in  one 
man  is  usually  not  the  way  to  develop  good-will  in  the  mass, 
and  that  is  why  the  work  of  the  advertising  department  can 
be  so  helpful  and  of  such  economy  to  the  sales  force.  It 
lowers  the  -iiigh  cost  of  mere  leg  work  and  heel  cooling. 

It  is  the  peculiar  function  of  the  advertising  department 
to  guide  and  develop  all  things  in  which  the  public  and  the 
customer's  good-will  is  involved.  Whatever  that  may  be 
in  any  firm,  it  is  the  function  of  the  advertising  depart- 
ment. The  salesmanager  should  preside  over  the  general 
sales  campaigning  and  relegate  the  personal  work  on  cus- 
tomers to  technical  special  men  under  him,  and  give  to  the 


232  ]\IODERN  SALESIMANAGEMENT 

special  care  of  the  advertising  manager  the  study  of  the 
development  of  good-will,  or  the  mass-minds  of  your  cus- 
tomers. Thus  you  can  see  how  highly  essential  it  is  that 
the  advertising  department  be  in  the  closest  possible  coun- 
sel with  the  sales  end,  and  that  the  sales  end  likewise  take 
counsel  from  the  advertising  department.  A  sales  organi- 
zation is  to-day  like  a  factory  in  its  variety  of  technical 
requirements,  and  must  have  specialists  whose  advice  and 
counsel  is  used.  By  the  use  of  all  the  specialized  technical 
points  of  view  sought  and  coordinated,  the  problems  get 
solved,  without  lamentable  onesidedness  or  arrested  de- 
velopment due  to  one-track  minds  or  one-horse  policies 
which  could  not  appreciate  the  wide  ramifications  of  good- 
will. 

One  of  the  greatest  business  needs  is  for  the  good-will 
of  the  average  concern  to  be  conserved,  developed  and 
made  broader.  There  are  numberless  perfunctory  adver- 
tising departments  where  this  study  of  good-will  develop- 
ment is  entirely  neglected.  Every  wrapper  on  a  package, 
every  delivery  team,  every  messenger  boy,  every  yard  of 
string  with  which  the  article  is  tied,  every  letterhead  on 
which  the  bills  and  letters  are  written,  all  carry  their  quota 
of  good-will  possibilities  and  must  be  technically  studied  to 
reach  the  maximum  efficiency. 

179.  Indirect  Developers  of  Good-Will. — Good-will  can  be 
made  to  come  from  the  most  indirect  and  unrelated  sources. 
Henry  Ford  did  not  primarily  have  the  idea  of  so  greatly 
advertising  his  plant  by  adopting  his  profit-sharing  plans, 
but  he  certainly  has  had  an  incalculable  amount  of  ad- 
vertising through  it.  When  John  Patterson,  of  the  Na- 
tional Cash  Register  Company,  was  under  fire  in  the  West 
on  account  of  his  early  business  practices,  and  during  the 
time  of  his  indictment  used  his  gi'eat  organizing  ability  to 
do  a  big  service  to  the  people  in  their  flood  crisis,  he  de- 
veloped a  kind  of  good-will  most  valuable  to  him. 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  GOOD-WILL       233 

In  fact,  it  has  come  to  such  a  point  that  interest  in 
public  affairs  by  business  men  is  a  distinct  developer  of 
good-will.  In  other  words,  the  man  in  the  community  who 
has  the  greatest  amount  of  public  interest  in  the  general 
ultimate  prosperity  of  his  community  is  actually  develop- 
ing the  most  good-will.  Good-will  is  a  natural  result  of  a 
broad-minded,  thoroughly  liberal  and  far-seeing  disposition 
in  business  men,  business  firms,  and  business  policies. 

180.  Cooperation  in  the  Development  of  Good-Will. — 
Good-will  is  something  which  the  advertising  department 
can  develop  only  as  fast  as  the  sales  organization  is  ready 
to  cooperate  with  it  and  intelligently  carry  it  out.  In  many 
concerns  the  advertising  departments  have  plenty  of  prac- 
tical ideas  about  good-will  development,  but  it  is  impos- 
sible to  get  the  sales  organization  to  help  pull  the  load.  It 
is  a  very  typical  condition.  The  sales  organization,  set  in 
its  way  and  still  deluded  that  selling  is  as  simple  as  it 
used  to  be  and  consists  chiefly  of  personal  calls,  and  thereby 
distinctly  limiting  the  success  of  the  business,  is  not  able 
to  take  advantage  of  modem  tools  of  good-will  building 
and  opportunities.  Consequently,  the  greatest  and  best 
means  possible  to  bring  together  the  advertising  and  sales 
departments  is  advisable,  so  that  their  ideal  of  service  and 
good-will  is  similar,  and  so  that  both  may  carry  out  the 
same  principles. 

181.  Legal  Protection  of  Good-Will. — It  has  been  legally 
termed  stealing  to  take  fraudulent  advantage  of  another's 
good-will,  and  the  law  of  unfair  competition,  while  not 
covered  by  special  statutes,  is  inherent  in  the  body  of 
common  law.  In  the  past  fifteen  years  it  has  received  a 
definite  increasing  recognition  by  the  courts,  and  is  in 
process  in  America  of  reaching  a  very  advanced  stage. 
The  Federal  Trade  Commission  is  its  special  champion, 
and  the  courts  have  interpreted  cases  before  it  with  an 
increasing  regard  for  the  principle,    The  great  debate  on 


234  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

price  maintenance,  which  has  been  going  on  for  a  number 
of  years,  is  hinging  now  upon  the  principle  of  protection 
of  good-will,  it  being  recognized  that  the  average  prac- 
tice of  price  cutting  is  essentially  an  act  of  piracy  upon 
good-will. 

It  may  fairly  be  relied  upon  that  courts  will  maintain 
the  principle  that  acts  injurious  to  the  business  reputation 
of  a  firm  will  be  regarded  as  a  wrongful  appropriation  of 
good-will. 

It  is  a  very  wise  policy  to  make  a  specific  plan  for  good- 
will development  and  to  keep  records  of  the  evidences  of 
such  good-will  for  use  in  legal  protection.  Such  records 
may  be  of  great  value  in  any  legal  controversy  over  the 
value  of  the  business. 

182.  Measurement  of  Good-Will. — This  until  recent  years 
was  looked  upon  as  an  impossible  task.  But  modern  lab- 
oratory psychology  has  made  available  test  methods 
whereby  the  good-will  standing  of  a  firm  or  a  trade-mark 
may  be  ascertained  with  considerable  accuracy.  The 
method  is  to  test  the  reactions  df  a  sufficient  number  of 
people,  under  controlled  conditions,  to  secure  so  far  as 
possible  an  unconscious  judgment  of  the  relative  impres- 
sion made  by  the  name  or  firm  or  goods.  Careful  statis- 
tical tabulation  of  these  results  produces  data  which  is  sci- 
entific and  dependable. 

The  measurement  of  good-will  is  not  alone  valuable  for 
legal  pui'poses,  but  has  a  very  practical  place  in  the  anal- 
ysis of  status  and  policies  for  business  purposes.  Many 
firms  have  an  exaggerated  idea  of  their  prestige.  In- 
stead of  opinion  such  measurement  provides  facts.  By 
making  these  tests  locally,  the  strength  of  the  firm  in  rela- 
tion to  advertising  expenditure,  or  to  competitive  action 
may  be  obtained.  Correlation  of  such  tests  and  compari- 
sons with  sales  provide  a  check  up  on  the  accuracy  of  the 
tests  and  on  other  factors. 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  GOOD-WILL       235 

183.  Appraising  Good-Will. — In  late  years  it  has  become 
a  frequent  practice  in  law  suits  to  call  expert  witnesses 
to  assist  in  establishing  a  valuation  of  good-will.  The 
author  of  this  book  has  served  as  such  an  expert  witness 
in  a  number  of  cases.  His  counsel  has  also  been  sought  in 
appraisal  of  properties  from  a  good-will  point  of  view, 
when  disputes  arose. 

Good-will  may  be  appraised  like  any  other  property,  by 
means  either  of  measurement  tests  above  described,  or  by 
means  of  judgment  and  computation  of  the  facts  about 
the  business.  In  the  United  States  Circuit  Court  the 
''going  value"  of  a  firm  has  been  arbitrarily  estimated  on 
principle  by  the  court  to  be  10%  of  the  "tangibles," 

Any  appraisal  procedure  is  complicated,  but  to  be  sound 
must  be  fully  appreciative  of  facts  concerning  advertising 
expenditure,  standing,  popularity  and  degree  of  informa- 
tion possessed  by  the  public.  It  is  a  development  yet  to 
come  in  accounting  when  the  factor  of  good-will  is  treated 
in  a  standard  way  in  statements.  At  present  a  variety  of 
methods  are  used  ranging  from  entire  elimination  to  in- 
flation. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

SALES  ADimNISTRATION  AND  BUDGETING 

184.  The  Sales  Department  as  an  Administrative  Proolemc 
— In  point  of  fact,  a  sales  department  has  administrative 
problems  of  as  broad  a  scope,  almost,  as  a  separate  business, 
because  of  the  wide  range  of  activities  and  the  opportunity 
and  demand  for  initiative.  The  administration  of  a  sales 
department  is  virtually  the  administration  of  the  busi- 
ness, because  sales  are  the  life  of  the  business.  The  degree 
of  administrative  vision  and  ability  shown  in  the  sales  de- 
partment is  usually  the  degree  of  the  alertness  and  aggres- 
siveness of  the  entire  business. 

By  administration,  I  do  not  mean  the  detail  of  organiza- 
tion, but  the  general  executive  conception,  plan,  and  opera- 
tion of  the  sales  department,  in  its  broad  lines  of  develop- 
ment, in  the  balancing  of  men,  policies,  principles,  and 
methods  and  in  the  fixing  of  goals  and  the  marshaling  of 
technical  resources  toward  their  accomplishment.  In  short, 
salesmanagement  leadership  that  does  not  become  tangled 
in  detail,  but  masters  it,  and  is  as  efficient  in  the  adjust- 
ment of  plans  to  fit  conditions  as  in  the  handling  of  men. 

185.  Administration  Problems  Defined. — The  general  ad- 
ministrative problems  of  a  salesmanager  may  be  grouped 
somewhat  as  follows : 

1.  To  keep  the  article  fitted  to  the  market ;  even  also  to 
keep  the  market  fitted  to  the  production  plans. 

2.  To  secure  and  maintain  the  information,  control- 
records  and  lines  of  contact  necessary  to  clear  understand- 
ing and  shaping  of  policies. 

236 


5^ 


n 

.    I 

■ 

f'A 

■»» 

_ 

« 

^ 

1 

•»- 

p^ 

^ 

-fi 

^ 

>5 

-: 

K 

-i- 

i>^  1 

3  c 

, 

. 

J 

J 

; 

« 

Pi^ 

:? 

•i 

^ 

w 

* 

■s*. 

»- 

jr 

W 

> 

J 

-. 

o 

J 

0 

} 

; 

t-1 

o 

■? 

"^ 

¥ 

^ 

? 

? 

• 

4 

1 

1 

^S 

f 

0-- 

1 

g 

CO 

^ 

A 

n 

35 

<»■ 

t-v 

.*- 

»« 

Q 

;£^ 

i- 

*^ 

sD 

^* 

A 

O 

■js- 

?: 

i 

<^ 

SL 

<>. 

o 

1 

^ 

^ 

A 

,0 

a 

4 

~i 

^ 

nS 

^ 

? 

i 

<< 

^ 

^ 

?> 

0 

!= 

f^ 

^ 

s 

v3 

^ 

J 

u 
<u 

1^ 

^ 

1 

0 

* 

»4 

O^ 

r 

<o 

i- 

1 

>o 

"^ 

1 

*?. 

V. 

V. 

^ 

I  *• 

s 

5 

a 

i5 

o 

^ 

v5 

04 

^ 

~> 

=" 

« 

»   "^ 

♦; 

«^ 

w 

^ 

jr 

« 

";" 

...S.I 

01 

J3 

a> 

tt 

■H 

§ 

,o 

f-i 

>> 

y 

«H 

> 

<D 

0) 

IX 

al 

3 

3 

O 

o 

•-> 

^ 

a 

< 

a 

•-^ 

•-» 

«« 

£0 

O 

m 

M 

o 

a     1 

M 

1 

m  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

3.  To  construct  policies  and  initiate  campaigns  which 
wisely  and  strategically  fit  the  situation,  from  the  point 
of  view  of  public,  distributors  and  the  general  conditions 
of  trade. 

4.  To  construct  and  maintain  an  organization  of  men 
capable  of  carrying  out  the  policies  and  campaigns  decided 
upon;  and  stimulated  constantly  to  do  their  best. 

5.  To  work  out  and  operate  a  sales  financial  budget 
which  will  safely  and  soundly  relate  expenditure  to  re- 
turns, and  schedule  and  detail  these  expenditures  and  re- 
turns on  a  business-like  quota  basis,  with  a  view  to  in- 
creasing the  profit  of  the  business. 

6.  To  coordinate  all  efforts  into  a  firmly  knit  whole, 
with  the  highest  striking  power  for  sales,  at  lowest  unit 
cost. 

7.  To  constantly  reexamine,  test,  and  review  the  admin- 
istration by  means  of  outside  counsel,  special  surveys,  and 
technical  investigation. 

8.  To  keep  the  entire  organization,  as  well  as  the  owners 
and  higher  executives  "sold"  on  the  correctness  and  effec- 
tiveness of  the  administrative  policies  and  plans;  also  to 
avoid  any  tendency  to  take  anything  for  granted  or  to 
acquire  set  points  of  view  or  opinions  or  prejudices. 

9.  To  make  every  possible  effort  to  see  into  the  future, 
and  be  prepared  in  advance. 

The  above  may  be  considered  the  real  problems  of  sales- 
administration,  beside  which  all  others  are  detail.  Only 
these  problems  should  occupy  the  administrative  head  of  a 
sales  department  (whether  he  is  salesmanager,  vice-presi- 
dent or  president).  These  functions  must  be  performed 
if  sales  administration  is  not  to  lag  and  go  awry. 

186.  The  Sales  Budget. — On  this  rock  more  salesmanagers 
founder,  in  the  final  analysis,  than  on  any  other  single  ad- 
ministrative problem.  The  term  sales  budget  is  not  used 
merely  as  indicating  an  accounting  record,  but  as  an  analy- 


1, 

« 

1 

1 

□ 

•' 

1 

2 

If. 

i 

-    1 

1 

5 

w 

1 

J! 

3, 

-^ 

I 

1 

^ 

1 

r. 

"' 

* 

1 

Z 

' 

i 

} 

i 

1 

h 

u 

h 

e 

*■ 

.B 

c 

1 

»? 

1 

1 

s" 

■^ 

i 

J 

< 

5 

1 

1 

' 

s 

Q 

ll 

Is 

■^ 

g 

o. 

& 

:^  fi 

1 

5 

3 

1 

g 

3 

J ! 

1 

^ 

M 

i 

:i 

g 

11 

' 

s 

ll 

— 

i 

1 

*^ 

s? 

1 

r- 

P 

i 

1 

i 
1 

1     1 

s  1 

!• 

1  j 

i 

i 

ij 

la 

P 

? 

N° 

1 

J,. 

3 

si 

1 

1 

si 

' 

■^ 

1 

1 

1? 

1. 

a 

-J 

a 

- 

s? 

^ 

^ 

1 

^ 

" 

" 

1 

•J 

1 

a 

1 

^ 

;^ 

c- 

is 

1, 

S 

s 

t? 

K 

1 

1 

5 

a 

i 

1 

1 

s 

1 

f 

i£ 

1- 

5 

1^ 

1 

< 

: 

1 

1 

1 

s 
<« 

S 

■1 

i 

1 

\ 

5 

.1 

1 

f 

1 

< 

!■ 

1 

■3 

1 

1 

s 

k 

i 

1 

240  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

sis  of  the  financial  aspect  of  sales  effort  and  policy.  Large 
numbers  of  concerns  are  selling  some  or  all  of  their  goods 
at  a  loss ;  or  are  making  their  sales  plans  and  sales  budgets 
without  due  regard  for  real  facts  and  conditions  and  ulti- 
mate results  and  contingencies.  The  natural  optimism  and 
impatience  with  detailed  reckoning  which  is  characteristic 
of  the  selling  temperament  leads  many  into  these  mistakes. 

Even  though  the  responsibility  is  in  reality  upon  the 
higher  executives,  modern  salesmanagement  is  trained  to 
perform  the  task  which  the  administrative  departments 
should  more  properly  perform: — to  work  out  in  specific 
figures  the  expectations  of  sale  in  given  volume  in  a  definite 
period  of  time  and  calculate  every  operation  of  the  busi- 
ness upon  logical  lines  of  procedure,  modulated  to  the  sales 
expectation. 

A  sales  budget  simply  aims  to  set  plans  preferably  for  a 
period  of  a  year,  or  for  a  season,  and  tunes  up  the  organi- 
zation to  that  plan.  It  is  best  operated  in  connection  with 
a  general  business  budget,  covering  the  entire  activities 
and  departments  of  the  business ;  but  in  the  absence  of  such 
a  general  budget  it  is  feasible  to  operate  one  for  the  sales 
department  alone,  pro"\dding  to  the  production  department 
a  factory  production  schedule,  or  otherwise  fitting  in  with 
a  special  production  budget  plan. 

To  argue  that  sales  are  so  variable  a  factor  that  sales 
activities  cannot  be  budgeted  is  to  ignore  the  technical 
facts  that  budgets,  when  scientifically  made,  pro\'ide  for 
fluctuations  and  handle  them  with  greater  ease  than  when 
there  is  no  budget.  A  sales  budget  is  the  blue  print  of 
the  structure  of  orders  it  is  proposed  to  rear,  and  is  as 
labor-saving  a  device  in  operating  a  sales  campaign  as  it  is 
in  building  a  house.  It  is  well  known  that  most  houses 
built  are  changed  in  some  details  from  the  blue  prints  while 
the  building  is  going  on,  but  no  one  would  deny  on  that 
account  the  superior  economy  of  having  blue  prints. 


SALES  ADMINISTRATION  241 

187.  Tlie  General  Sales  Quota. — Every  effort  should  have 
a  specific  goal  for  its  object,  otherwise  it  is  partly  aimless 
and  lacks  the  stimulus  of  a  definite  target.  It  is  the  high- 
est wisdom  of  sales  administration  to  set  a  definite  quota 
of  orders  to  get  during  a  year  period.  It  simplifies  and 
objectifies  everything,  because  it  sets  a  specific  task  for 
every  one. 

A  common  mistake  about  quotas  is  to  deliberately  set  a 
figure  at  variance  with  logical  expectation,  simply  to  incite 
greater  efi'ort,  and  with  a  full  realization  of  its  futility. 
An  unthinking  organization  may  take  this  bait  to  im- 
possible effort  for  one  year,  but  the  efficiency  of  the  quota 
for  stimulation  will  be  very  low  the  next  year. 

No  quota  should  be  set  which  it  is  not  definitely  expected 
to  achieve.  No  quota  should  be  set  higher  than  is  possible 
for  the  organization  or  the  effort  made  to  accomplish.  A 
quota  should  be  a  hona  fide  goal,  an  honest  target  on  which 
a  bull's  eye  hit  is  possible.  It  is  deadly  to  the  morale  of  a 
sales  organization  to  feel  that  it  is  chasing  a  rainbow  pot 
of  gold.  It  must  believe  the  quota  can  be  secured,  and  it 
must  see  in  detail  how,  if  each  reaches  his  attainable  indi- 
vidual fraction  of  the  general  goal,  that  general  goal  will 
become  a  reality.  To  this  end  the  quota  should  be  set  with 
care  and  precision,  based  upon  a  survey  of  all  the  factors 
involved. 

A  common  mistake  is  to  endeavor  to  increase  or  even 
maintain  the  previous  percentage  of  gain,  when  that  gain 
has  already  been  a  large  one,  the  year  before.  The  law  of 
diminishing  returns,  even  if  all  other  factors  are  favorable 
(which  usually  they  are  not)  operates  against  the  mainte- 
nance of  a  large  rate  of  increase. 

A  quota  which  is  not  reached  also  undermines  confidence 
in  a  firm's  ability.  The  legend  of  success  which  grows  up 
around  a  firm  or  an  individual  salesmanager  is  seriously 
shattered  when  a  quota  set  with  enthusiasm  is  not  reached 


242  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

within  10%.  Explanations  of  a  5  or  10%  shortage  may 
plausibly  be  made,  but  not  of  a  gi-eater  shortage.  A  quota 
oversold  by  more  than  5  or  10%  also  has  some  ill  effect; 
the  job  appears  too  easy,  and  pext  year's  quota  will  be  less 
energetically  worked  for.  A  quota  should,  for  maximum 
effect,  be  oversold  just  about  5%. 

188.  Budgeting  a  ftuota. — The  general  quota  is  the  basis 
and  foundation  of  the  sales  budget.  The  quota  is  value- 
less unless  it  is  subdivided  and  its  stimulus  applied  in  detail 
to  all  departments. 

It  is  obvious  that  if  the  billings  to  be  achieved  amount  to 
$1,000,000,  that  amount  of  goods  must  be  produced,  mar- 
keted and  administered ;  and  the  quota,  expense  and  capital 
budgets  will  naturally  be  in  proportion  to  such  business 
done.  A  quota  for  each  individual  article  sold;  for  each 
territory  and  for  each  salesman  must  be  worked  out,  as 
well  as  a  division  of  this  quota  for  each  month  or  week  or 
even  each  day. 

The  master-budget  forms  illustrated  are  arranged  to  con- 
tain all  necessary  fundamental  or  illustrative  figures,  and 
to  show  two  things:  (1)  the  proposed  or  budgeted  figures 
in  full  for  the  entire  term  of  the  budget  (usually  12 
months)  ;  and  (2)  the  actual  results  achieved  to  date  by 
each  division  and,  preferably,  also  their  per  cent  of  the 
corresponding  budgeted  figures.  Corresponding  figures  for 
the  past  year  or  an  average  of  several  years  may  also  be 
shown,  but  are  not  in  any  way  essential  to  the  complete 
comparison  and  analysis  of  current  results. 

Whether  a  budget  is  a  sub-budget  or  master  budget 
(gathering  together  and  showing  the  results  of  the  sub- 
budgets),  the  same  general  plans  and  divisions  are  followed 
and  the  same  three  main  divisions — production,  marketing 
and  administrative — remain  the  same,  and  only  the  sub- 
headings or  the  sub-divisions  of  the  business  are  altered 


SALES  ADMINISTRATION^  243 

according  to  the  needs  of  the  particular  business  being 
budgeted. 

The  first  estimates  prepared  by  the  three  divisions  are 
adjusted  and  combined  in  the  production  quotas  summary, 
as  illustrated. 

The  second,  and  possibly  the  most  vital  of  the  three 
budgets,  is  the  expense  budget,  "the  meat  in  the  cocoanut" 
of  any  business,  as  representing  the  co.st  to  operate  and  the 
resulting  promises  of  profits  or  loss  on  each  dollar  of  busi- 
ness done. 

The  cents  or  fraction  of  a  cent  of  each  sales  dollar  which 
each  important  operation  or  department  will  cost  should 
be  very  carefully  figured  for  the  unit  or  first  operation  to 
be  budgeted,  up  through  the  various  expense  sub-budgets 
until  they  appear  in  the  expense  budget  summary.  It 
sometimes  takes  several  days  of  intensive  figuring  and  con- 
ference by  all  divisions  before  an  equitable  and  final  ad- 
justment of  expense  or  per  cent  of  sales  dollars  is  agreed 
upon  and  allotted  to  each  division. 

Thereafter  the  heads  of  all  divisions  and  sub-divisions 
must  carefully  watch  and  adjust  the  results  to  get  the 
closest  possible  accord  between  actual  and  budgeted  figures 
each  month,  as  gathered  in  the  expense  budget  summary 
in  the  hands  of  the  chief  executive. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

SELLING  COST  AND  EXPENSE 

189.  The  General  Situation  in  Sales  Cost. — Broaaiy  speak- 
ing, sales  cost  has  been  far  too  high  in  this  country  for 
years  past.  While  every  other  department  was  closely 
supervised,  selling  was  usually  operated  on  a  totally  un- 
stinted basis.  This  was  of  value  in  beating  down  at  all 
costs  the  great  obstacles  to  national  distribution,  and  in 
conducting  the  expensive  educational  campaigns  necessary 
to  metropolitanize  the  country's  population.  But  it  also 
tended  to  fix  upon  the  selling  organization  certain  extrava- 
gant habits  of  mind  which  have  been  hard  to  align  with 
the  modern  tendency  to  pare  costs  down  to  fractions  and 
use  the  more  economical  tools  and  methods  of  selling  which 
modern  facilities  make  possible. 

Selling  cost  for  specialties  has  frequently  been  as  high 
as  five  times  manufacturing  cost — ^usually  because  the 
methods  of  yesterday  were  carried  over  into  to-day,  with- 
out achieving  the  compensating  economy  which  should  come 
from  volume.  A  cumbersome  sales  organization,  an  un- 
sound distribution  situation,  a  dependence  on  the  methods 
of  the  past,  a  lack  of  appreciation  of  modern  labor  saving, 
time  annihilating  methods — these  things  have  combined  to 
make  sales  cost  vary  remarkably,  even  within  an  individual 
industry.  The  * '  low  cost  group ' '  of  manufacturers  within 
an  industry  are  always  competing  with  the  "high  cost" 
manufacturers — that  is,  with  manufacturers  whose  skill  and 
experience  and  knowledge  are  inferior  and  whose  costs  are 
therefore  higher  than  that  of  the  more  prosperous  "low 

244 


SELLING  COST  AND  EXPENSE  245 

cost"  manufacturers.  This  peculiar  fact  came  out  with 
especial  prominence  when  during  the  tariff  controversy  the 
matter  came  up  of  studying  differences  in  costs  here  and 
abroad.  It  was  found  hopeless  to  settle  upon  a  cost  as 
representative  of  the  average  industry,  because  if  set  high 
enough  to  protect  the  high  cost  manufacturers,  the  low  cost 
manufacturers  would  profit  disproportionately,  whereas  if 
the  low  cost  manufacturer's  figures  were  used,  the  high 
cost  group  would  be  bankrupted. 

The  study  of  sales  cost  is  one  challenging  the  best  brains 
of  a  salesmanager,  for  in  most  industries  it  is  no  great 
trick  to  get  results  at  a  high  cost;  the  test  of  ability  is  to 
get  them  at  as  low  a  rate  as  possible.  The  unit  cost  of 
selling  must  be  reduced,  not  the  mere  general  volume  of 
expense.  This  can  only  be  done  by  increasing  the  sales 
efficiency  of  men  in  the  field,  increasing  the  fertility  of  plan 
and  organization  at  headquarters,  decreasing  the  overhead 
in  ratio  to  the  volume,  increasing  volume,  standardizing, 
eliminating  and  concentrating ;  also  employing  great  labor 
saving  devices  such  as  advertising. 

190.  What  Properly  Is  "Sales  Cost?"— This  is  a  most 
pertinent  question,  since  even  accountants  have  somewhat 
varying  methods  of  classification  of  costs  under  sales  cost. 
This  condition  springs  from  the  fundamental  shift  of  ideas 
which  has  been  taking  place  concerning  manufacturing  and 
merchandising.  Under  the  old  conception  whereby  the 
sales  department  was  a  mere  wing  of  the  business  and 
production  was  the  center,  naturally  sales  cost  was  inter- 
preted somewhat  narrowly.  In  many  concerns  to-day  the 
term  sales  cost  is  used  only  to  describe  salesmen's  salaries, 
commissions  and  expenses.  This  ranges  from  3I/2  to  8  per 
cent  and  normally  averages  about  6%  of  the  volume  of 
business;  less,  if  the  business  is  well  advertised  to  con- 
sumers and  the  demand  is  automatic ;  more  if  little  or  no 
advertising'  is  done  and  the  market  is  full  of  resistance. 


246  IMODERN  SALESI\LiNAtJEMENT 

But  sales  cost,  properly  considered,  is  not  alone  sales- 
men 's  cost,  but  all  cost  which  directly  or  indirectly  may  be 
chargeable  to  sales  development  or  market  broadening. 

The  broad  divisions  of  proper  sales  cost  are : 

1.  A  just  proportion  of  office  administrative  overhead. 

2.  Salaries  of  all  employed  in  sales  activities. 

3.  Commissions,  bonuses  and  expenses  of  salesmen. 

4.  Advertising  of  every  kind  directly  aiming  at  sales 
(but  not  contribution  advertising  nor  even  institutional  ad- 
vertising for  general  good-will). 

5.  Special  charges  reasonably  designated  as  cost  of  sales 
development  work,  sales  expense,  etc.  (this  di^dsion  might 
include  even  such  items  as  experimental  work  on  new 
products;  credit  losses  incurred  on  a  basis  of  sales  risk, 
etc.). 

191.  Cominon  Errors  in  Sales  Cost  Figuring. — Typical  of 
many  who  arbitrarily  and  wrongly  charge  up  items  to  sales 
cost  is  that  of  a  machinery  concern  which  charged  taxes, 
insurance,  interest  and  freight  and  stationery  to  selling. 
This  is  absurdly  wrong.  General  administrative  costs  must 
never  be  mixed  with  sales  cost.  Some  cost  accountants 
figure  cash  discounts  as  sales  expense,  whereas  in  my  opin- 
ion and  that  of  other  specialists  in  sales  matters,  this  is 
purely  an  administrative  cost  of  doing  business.  Freight 
is  more  properly  a  cost  of  production  than  a  sales  cost,  ex- 
cept in  special  cases  when  used  as  a  business  getting  argu- 
ment. 

The  three  logical  departments  of  business  are  admin- 
istrative, manufacturing,  selling,  and  the  selling  cost  must 
in  reality  be  a  necessary  cost  of  producing,  not  of  filling 
ordere,  in  order  to  be  proper  sales  cost.  An  order  is  the 
completed  product  of  the  sales  department ;  thereafter  the 
cost  (with  only  such  apparent  exceptions  as  in  reality  con- 
form to  the  principle)  are  properly  upon  production  and 
administration. 


SELLING  COST  AND  EXPENSE  247 

Consequently  bad  debts,  damage  and  breakage,  etc.,  are 
not  charges  upon  the  sales  department. 

Under  the  convenient  title  of  "miscellaneous"  many- 
items  are  charged  to  sales  or  advertising  which  have  no  real 
place  there.  It  is  a  common  tendency  on  the  part  of  ad- 
ministrative officers  to  endeavor  to  load  sundry  items  upon 
these  two  general  heads  which  cannot  by  any  real  logic  be 
justified.     This  is  an  injustice  to  the  sales  department. 

It  should  be  understood  that  selling  cost  differs  from  any 
other  kind  of  cost,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  it  deals  with 
many  somewhat  intangible  elements.  Unlike  manufactur- 
ing costs,  they  cannot  be  estimated  always  on  a  purely 
physical  and  material  basis ;  they  cannot  be  computed  so 
accurately  and  within  so  small  an  area.  Sales  costs  factors 
and  the  conditions  that  affect  them  reach  all  over  the  world,- 
and  are  based  on  human  nature  and  economic  and  psycho- 
logical conditions. 

Sales  costs,  when  examined  and  contrasted  in  one  line 
with  another,  or  one  firm  with  another,  show  every  item  of 
difference  in  the  character  and  policy  of  the  house,  the 
range  of  the  territory  in  which  goods  are  sold,  the  method 
by  which  goods  are  sold  ;  while  even  the  quality  of  the  goods 
themselves  affect  the  selling  cost  immediately. 

192.  Sales  Cost  and  Fixity  of  Demand. — Prominent  in  the 
selling  cost  is  the  element  of  fixity  of  demand.  A  staple 
article  naturally  has  the  lowest  selling  cost,  whereas  a  new 
and  unknown  type  of  article  has  a  very  high  selling  cost, 
due  to  the  great  amount  of  inertia  and  indifference  which 
must  be  overcome  in  order  to  make  a  sale.  The  ratio  of 
this  indifference  and  inertia  is  the  true  ratio  of  selling  cost, 
because  all  other  differences  are,  after  all,  minor  differences, 
in  comparison  with  this. 

When  typewriters  were  first  put  on  the  market  the  sell- 
ing cost  was  something  like  60%  of  the  sales  price  and 
something  like  450%  of  the  manufacturing  cost.     In  fact, 


248  MODERN  SALESIVIANAGEMENT 

this  ratio  has  not  decreased  very  greatly  iu  the  last  20 
years,  for  the  simple  reason  that  the  large  service  organi- 
zation required  of  the  typewriter  companies  is  still  very 
expensive.  This  very  high  selling  expense,  as  illustrated  in 
this  field  of  typewriters,  was  due  to  the  fact  that  people 
were  very  unwilling  to  give  up  writing  their  letters  at  first 
and  use  typewriters. 

As  extremely  contrasted  at  the  other  end  of  the  scale 
we  have  sugar,  which  everybody  uses,  and  which  requires 
no  selling  effort,  and  is  in  fact  chemically  identical  with 
any  other  brand  by  any  other  manufacturer:  the  selling 
cost  on  this  article  naturally  is  scarcely  1%. 

We  have  here  then  illustrated  the  two  extremes,  one  of 
the  specialty  and  the  other  a  staple,  showing  between  what 
points  and  extremes  selling  cost  ranges.  However,  when 
you  examine  all  other  articles  very  minutely,  you  will  find 
great  differences,  even  among  staples.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
the  sharp  division  between  staples  and  specialties  is  rapidly 
vanishing,  because  staple  manufacturers  are  fast  adopting 
the  more  aggressive  methods  of  the  specialty  manufacturers 
in  their  sales  efforts ;  and  the  specialty  manufacturers  are 
constantly  tending  to  work  toward  becoming  a  staple.  For 
instance,  safety  razors  used  to  be  very  much  a  specialty; 
they  are  now  regarded  as  more  or  less  of  a  staple.  Their 
selling  cost  is  naturally  therefore  gradually  reducing.  This 
same  thing  applies  to  any  article  which  the  public  grad- 
ually becomes  used  to,  and  which  becomes  part,  of  its  daily 
life.  Bath-tubs  used  to  be  a  pure  luxury;  they  are  now 
regarded  as  a  necessity.  Linen  collars  were  regarded  as 
a  pure  luxury  for  only  special  classes  of  people;  to-day 
even  the  mechanics  wear  linen  collars. 

193.  The  Cost  of  Aggressive  Selling. — The  difference  is 
marked  between  the  cost  of  aggressive  selling  of  any  article, 
whether  staple  or  specialty,  and  the  cost  of  more  dormant 
type  of  selling,  which  greatly  affects  selling  cost.     In  other 


SELLING  COST  AND  EXPENSE  249 

words,  two  firms  selling  a  staple  article  may  have  a  widely 
different  selling  cost,  for  the  simple  reason  that  one  of  these 
concerns  is  treating  its  staple  like  a  specialty,  whereas  the 
other  concern  treats  its  article  as  a  pure  staple, — relying 
upon  its  past  history,  its  general  good-will, — and  is  satis- 
fied with  a  very  nominal  rate  of  growth.  The  selling  cost 
of  the  more  aggressive  firm  may  be,  let  us  say,  12%,  whereas 
the  selling  cost  of  the  less  aggressive  house  may  be  9%. 
On  the  face  of  things  it  might  seem,  therefore,  that  the  old 
house  had  the  better  of  the  argument,  but  as  a  matter  of 
fact  the  speed  of  business  development  and  the  ready  re- 
sponse which  can  be  secured  nowadays  through  aggressive 
selling  effort  make  this  untrue. 

It  does  not  so  much  matter  what  the  percentage  rate  of 
selling  expense  is,  so  much  as  it  matters  what  is  th  e  volume, 
and  the  rapidity  of  growth  of  volume.  In  other  words, 
it  may  pay  big  profits  to  have  a  12%  selling  cost  until  a 
large  volume  of  business  is  secured.  It  figures  out  some- 
thing like  this : 

Competitor  A  has  a  volume  of  $1,000,000  per  year,  at  a 
sales  cost  of  $90,000  or  9%.  Competitor  B  has  a  volume 
of  $500,000,  and  a  sales  expense  of  12%.  Naturally  it  is 
B  's  aim  to  secure  more  sales,  as  it  will  automatically  reduce 
his  selling  cost  more  to  the  level  of  Competitor  A.  In  fact, 
Competitor  B  could,  without  any  hardship,  also  have  a 
selling  cost  of  9%  if  he  chose  to  grow  at  no  greater  speed 
than  Competitor  A  (who  has  been  in  business  20  years  with 
an  average  annual  growth  of  5%). 

But  Competitor  B  is  not  content  to  limit  his  growth.  He 
wishes  to  anmhilate  time,  not  only  because  he  is  only  7 
years  old,  but  because  he  wishes  to  make  a  greater  amount 
of  profit  within  a  shorter  period  of  years  than  competitor 
A.  Competitor  A  wishes  to  earn  only  $2,000,000  net  in  the 
next  ten  years,  while  competitor  B  wishes  to  earn  3  or  4 
million.     But,  more  important  still,  he  is  out  to  dominate 


250  MODERN  SALESIMANAGEMENT 

his  field,  reach  into  every  corner  of  the  market  and  estab- 
lish himself  there  securely.  He  realizes  the  strategic  value 
of  seizing  the  reins  of  leadership  from  the  slack  hands  of 
Competitor  A,  so  that  in  the  shortest  space  of  time  he  may 
have  a  masterful  grip  on  the  field. 

This  is  illustrated  by  the  men's  clothing  field  where  a 
prominent  new  firm  wrested  the  long-held  leadership  away 
from  a  certain  house  and  now  enjoys  a  volume  of  about  20 
million  to  the  old  leader's  414  million,  and  at  a  selling  cost 
of  21^%  as  contrasted  to  414  or  5%. 

194.  Volume  in  Relation  to  Sales  Cost. — The  principle  is 
exactly  like  the  principle  of  moving  a  railway  train.  It 
may  take  a  greater  amount  of  steam  to  start  a  larger  train 
of  cars  than  a  smaller  train,  but  once  started  it  actually 
takes  less  steam  to  keep  it  going  on  a  level  stretch  because 
of  momentum.  A  large  volume  may  cost  higher  in  sales 
cost  to  secure,  but  when  secured  costs  much  less  to  maintain 
than  a  smaller  volume. 

Modem  American  manufacturers  have  therefore  fully 
realized  the  value  of  volume.  In  fact,  volume  has  been  too 
universally  and  exclusively  striven  for,  without  also  seeing 
that  the  greater  complications  of  large  volume  sometimes 
result  in  annulling  the  proper  expectations  of  decreased 
cost.  As  volume  increases  organization  becomes  more  diffi- 
cult, and  it  requires  relatively  more  brains  than  a  business 
of  small  volume,  if  the  economies  of  volume  are  to  be 
reaped.  Large  organization  and  large  volume  bring  more 
and  more  opportunities  for  leaks,  and  waste  and  ineffi- 
ciency. The  caliber  of  executives  must  be  up  to  the  volume 
demands. 

Selling  cost  must  be  studied  first  in  relation  to  desired 
volume,  the  conditions  of  the  field  and  the  desired  speed  of 
growth,  before  it  can  be  properly  analyzed  and  intelli- 
gently judged.  Unless  selling  cost  is  judged  in  relation 
to  these  factors  it  is  meaningless  to  say  selling  cost  is  too 


SELLING  COST  AND  EXPENSE  251 

high  or  too  low.     There  is  a  definite  point  which,  all  factors 

considered,  is  the  logical  selling  cost  for  any  house  which 
has  determined  its  policies  and  plans  and  knows  its  field 
thoroughly. 

195.  The  Vital  Matter  of  General  Costs.— Although  the 
responsibility  is  primarily  on  the  general  administration 
of  a  business,  cooperation  in  cost  study  by  the  sales  admin- 
istration is  vital  to  a  business.  The  setting  of  costs  also 
effects  sales,  and  a  salesmanager  may  be  severely  penalized 
in  competition  by  an  incorrect  or  careless  manner  of  cost- 
ing the  goods  sold,  and  the  prices  set  as  a  result.  Often 
elaborate  cost  systems  incorrect  in  principle,  are  adopted, 
resulting  in  placing  prices  on  goods  so  high  as  apparently 
to  make  sales  impossible.  Much  difficulty  arises  also  from 
the  problem  of  the  relative  sales  desirability  of  selling  some 
goods  at  a  loss,  and  others  at  an  abnormally  high  profit. 
Under  some  few  circumstances  this  is  advisable  for  sales 
policy  reasons  (but  never  for  accounting  reasons,  of 
course).  The  law  of  averages  must  be  employed  in  such 
cases  to  work  out  the  ultimate  policy.  Dependence  must 
be  laid  upon  average  profits,  when  there  are  fluctuating 
rates  of  profit,  or  when  policy  reasons  are  used  in  setting 
prices  on  some  goods  without  regard  to  costs. 

Sometimes  all  competitors  are  equally  ignorant  of  real 
costs,  and  when  accurate  cost  accounting  discloses  losses,  it 
becomes  a  matter  partly  of  sales  administrative  policy  to 
determine  whether  it  will  pay  to  be  courageous  and  lead  the 
industry  in  raising  prices  to  profitable  levels  based  on  true 
costs. 

Excellent  sales  strategy  may  be  worked  out  from  a  cost 
situation  of  this  kind,  by  concentrating  sales  effort  upon  the 
lines  in  which  true  cost  figures  show  the  largest  margins, 
while  competitors,  unaware  of  their  unprofitable  lines, 
spend  a  large  part  of  their  sales  energy  upon  the  profitless 
business. 


252  MODERN  SALESI^IANAGEMENT 

Costs  should  be  controlled  by  the  general  accounts,  and 
should  not  be  "shaded"  by  any  false  or  careless  logic.  A 
salesmanager  should  be  slow  to  deem  cost  figures  absurd 
in  the  light  of  competitive  prices,  knowing  how  widespread 
is  the  ignorance  and  neglect  of  cost  finding.  Monthly 
statements  showing  actual  profits  studied  by  salesmanagers, 
will  cure  this,  for  true  costs  are,  in  most  instances,  always 
greater  than  expected.  It  is  a  foolish  custom  to  examine 
profits  only  at  the  end  of  a  year.  This  is  too  late  to  save 
much  that  may  have  been  made  instead  of  lost  during  the 
year. 

196.  Data  on  Profits. — Far  too  little  attention  is  paid  by 
many  salesmanagers  to  the  study  of  profits.  This  is  not 
altogether  their  fault.  It  is  remarkable  how  little  valuable 
information  is  furnished  the  average  salesmanager,  even 
in  those  concerns  where  there  is  a  more  or  less  elaborate 
cost  system  and  where  numerous  cost  clerks  are  employed. 
In  the  case  of  a  company  whose  product  was  sold  on  an 
f.  0.  b.  Pittsburgh  basis  and  where  the  freight  item  was  a 
factor  of  great  importance,  it  was  not  possible  in  spite  of 
the  highly  detailed  cost  accounting  system  in  force  to  de- 
termine whether  the  business  done  in  territories  where  the 
company  was  not  reimbursed  for  freight  outlays  was  being 
handled  at  a  profit  or  otherwise. 

A  salesmanager  should  have  data  on  profits,  under  the 
following  sub-heads : 

1.  On  various  types  and  kinds  of  products  separately 

2.  On  all  territories  and  divisions  of  territories 

3.  By  individual  salesmen,  districts  and  branches 

4.  By  sales  to  various  classes  of  customers. 

In  addition,  the  system  should  provide  for  furnishing 
any  combination  of  this  information,  as  for  instance : 

1.  Profits  realized  in  the  various  territories  by  lines  of 
product. 


SELLING  COST  AND  EXPENSE  253 

2.  Profits  realized  on  sales  to  the  various  classes  of  cus- 
tonaei-s  by  lines  of  product,  etc. 

It  is  also  desirable  that  the  salesmanager  be  furnished 
with  approximate  information  under  the  above  heads  as 
regards  estimated  profits  on  unfilled  orders,  as  it  by  no 
means  follows  that  the  profits  realized  on  this  montli's 
shipments  are  indicative  of  what  the  profits  will  be  on  the 
orders  accepted  this  month. 

197.  Costs  and  Profits  Traced  to  Individual  Salesmen. — 
There  is  no  reason  why  merely  general  data  on  costs  and 
profits  should  be  available.  It  is  of  very  definite  value  to 
figure  out  accurately  the  profit  or  loss  represented  by  any 
individual  salesman's  efforts. 

By  means  of  an  electrical  tabulating  device,  using  coded 
punch  cards,  it  is  impossible  to  accomplish  this  in  detail 
even  in  the  most  complicated  businesses.  In  a  machinery 
house  for  instance  as  described  by  C.  Charter  Harrison, 
cards  are  punched  to  give  the  following  information  as  to 
an  individual  salesman 's  sales  : 

1.  the  number  of  each  kind  of  machine  sold 

2.  the  total  amount  billed  for  each  kind  of  machine 

3.  the  freight  billed  for  each  kind  of  machine 

This  information  is  posted  to  the  Analysis  of  Machine 
Sales  by  Salesman  and  by  reference  to  the  Standard  Cost 
Cards,  the  standard  cost  of  machines  sold  is  obtained,  and 
totaled  by  classes  in  the  case  illustrated,  it  being  assumed 
that  the  standard  cost  of  all  machines  of  the  implement 
class  sold  by  J.  G.  Jones  was  $2,000.  In  order  to  ob- 
tain the  relation  between  the  standard  and  actual  cost  of 
this  class  of  machine  an  inventoiy  account  is  carried,  show- 
ing in  parallel  columns  the  standard  and  actual  cost  of 
the  machine  manufactured.  In  the  case  taken  as  an  exam- 
ple it  appears  that  the  actual  cost  of  the  machines  of  the 
implement  class  carried  in  the  Springfield  Branch  repre- 
sented 150  per  cent  of  standard,  so  that  the  gross  profit 


254  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

realized  from  J.   G.  Jones'  sales  of  implements  for  the 
month  works  out  as  follows : 

Standard  cost  of  implements  sold  $  2,000.00 

Ratio  of  actual  cost  to  standard 140  per  cent 

Actual  cost  of  implements  sold  $  2,800.00 

Amount  of  implement  billings 3,010.00 

Gross  profit  on  J,  G.  Jones'  implement  sales. .  210.00 


CHAPTER  XXiy 

PRACTICAL  SALESMANSHIP  PRINCIPLES 

198.  What  Is  Salesmanship? — Salesmanship  may  roughly 
be  classified  into  routine  salesmanship  and  creative  sales- 
manship. The  former  type  of  salesman  is  often  referred 
to  as  a  "  mere  order  taker. ' '  This  type  is  the  most  numer- 
ous, especially  in  staple  lines.  The  typical  example  is  the 
representative  who  makes  the  rounds  among  the  trade  with 
the  question :  ' '  Do  you  need  anything  in  our  line  to-day  ? ' ' 
If  customers  say  "yes,"  then  follows  a  discussion  of  sam- 
ples, terms  and  prices :  if  "  no, ' '  he  goes  his  way. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  creative  type  of  salesman,  par- 
ticularly the  specialty  salesman,  is  often  told  that  the 
customer  is  not  interested  and  does  not  see  the  need  for 
the  goods.  The  creative  salesman  then  helps  to  educate 
the  prospect  to  appreciate  how  he  can  profit  by  accepting 
the  offering  made. 

Salesmanship  has  been  defined  in  a  thousand  ways  more 
or  less  fanciful,  but  a  practical  working  definition  might 
be  "getting  goods  from  where  it  is  made  to  where  it  is 
needed."  To  accomplish  this  task  a  great  many  arts  and 
sciences  must  be  called  into  play. 

199.  The  Feeling  Accompanying  Every  Idea  or  Impres- 
sion.— The  real  basis  for  the  value  of  personality  in  sales- 
manship is  the  psychological  fact  that  every  idea  that 
enters  a  person 's  mind  is  accompanied  by  some  feeling,  and 
this  feeling  is  either  good  or  bad,  pleasant  or  unpleasant, 
satisfactory  or  unsatisfactory.     There  is  no  idea  so  small 

255 


256  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

that  it  does  not  produce  some  feeling  causing  the  mind  to 
like  it  or  dislike  it. 

Everything  that  the  prospect  hears,  sees,  smells,  tastes, 
or  feels  may  result  in  an  idea,  and  every  idea,  whether 
fully  formed  or  not,  is  classified  by  the  mind  as  satisfactory 
or  unsatisfactory,  and,  therefore,  helps  or  hurts  in  making 
the  sale. 

The  appearance  and  dress  of  the  salesman,  the  voice, 
speech,  and  even  his  breath  if  it  is  bad,  all  produce  their 
effect  on  the  customer's  mind.  The  modern  salesman  plans 
definitely  to  have  all  these  items  produce  satisfactory  rather 
than  unsatisfactory  results.  In  a  similar  manner,  the 
solicitor  should  plan  to  secure  the  right  impression  from 
the  prospect  by  careful  attention,  not  only  to  the  statement 
of  his  proposition,  but  also  to  the  manner  of  statement,  his 
own  personality,  and  to  all  of  the  surroundings. 

200.  Watching  the  Buyers'  Facial  Expressions. — Another 
fact  of  psychology  is  that  every  idea  or  feeling  that  enters 
a  person's  mind  tends  to  be  expressed.  There  are  dozens 
of  ways  in  which  the  tendency  of  expression  may  show. 
Speech,  exclamations,  shaking  the  head,  movements  of  the 
hands  or  body,  the  brightening  of  the  eye,  the  movements 
of  the  muscles  of  the  face,  laughing,  frowning,  blushing, 
are  all  forms  of  expression. 

Many  people  learn  to  control  this  tendency  to  show  what 
they  are  thinking.  Most  people  learn  to  control  their 
speech  to  a  certain  extent.  Some  learn  to  control  the  ex- 
pression of  the  eyes,  but  very  few  learn  to  control  the 
movements  of  their  finer  muscles  of  the  face  and  body. 

These  expressions  are  very  valuable  to  the  salesman. 
Every  good  salesman  watches  his  customer's  expressions 
with  great  care,  for  it  is  by  these  expressions  that  he  must 
judge  whether  he  is  pointing  out  that  which  is  interesting 
to  the  customer,  whether  he  is  on  the  right  track  or  not. 

201.  The  "Approach."  Arousing  Interest. — To  get  a  hear- 


PRACTICAL  SALESMANSHIP  PRINCIPLES    257 

ing  from  people  who  are  not  aware  they  need  or  want  your 
goods  is,  as  a  rule,  not  an  easy  matter.  There  are  go  many 
sellers  constantly  after  the  buyer  that  the  latter  is  weary 
of  listening  to  them,  and  in  many  cases  has  not  the  time  to 
give  every  one  an  audience.  When  possible,  the  way  for 
the  salesman  should  be  paved  through  a  previous  appoint- 
ment, either  by  telephone  or  correspondence,  or  through  a 
previous  educational  campaign  of  advertising  matter,  which 
materially  reduces  the  cost  of  sales  closing.  Admission  to 
the  buyer — in  sales  technique  called  ' '  the  approach ' ' — must 
be  sought  through  strategems,  if  other  means  fail.  The 
persevering  and  successful  salesman  will  generally  succeed 
in  "getting  to  his  man"  even  though  at  first  he  is  refused 
a  hearing.  This  requires  versatility,  perception,  personal^ 
ity,  courage  and  courtesy. 

In  order  to  find  the  best  possible  angle  of  approaching 
the  subject,  the  salesman — like  the  yachtsman — "maneuvers 
for  position"  mentally.  He  endeavors  to  engage  the  pros- 
pect in  a  more  or  less  general  conversation,  or  on  some 
topic  of  specific  interest  to  him,  leading  from  there  to  his 
own  proposition. 

He  will  secure  the  buyer's  interest  for  it  if  he  can  con- 
cisely state  that  he  can  effect  either  a  saving  or  make  more 
money  for  the  prospect. 

202.  Reaching  the  Prospect's  Mind  Through  the  Five 
Senses. — The  simple  psychology  of  human  beings  forms 
the  very  base  of  any  understanding  of  selling.  A  human 
being  cannot  be  influenced  excepting  through  his  mind, 
which  is  approached  by  exactly  five  senses — five  principal 
nerves  that  lead  into  the  brain-box:  (1)  the  sense  of  sight, 
(2)  of  hearing,  (3)  of  taste,  (4)  of  smell,  (5)  of  touch. 
It  is  well  known  that  most  individuals  differ  in  their  habit 
of  receiving  impressions  into  their  minds.  Some  get  most 
of  their  impressions  through  the  eye  (and  are  called  "eye- 
minded")  ;  they  must  see  a  thing  in  order  to  understand  it 


258  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

readily.  These  are  the  people  (and  they  are  large  in  num- 
ber, but  by  no  means  a  majority),  who  prefer  to  read  your 
proposition,  who  respond  readily  to  advertising,  and  who 
are  very  observant,  noticing  all  the  features  of  an  article 
shown  them  without  much  assistance. 

The  ear-minded  people,  also  in  the  minority,  are  those 
who  even  in  their  reading,  half  whisper  the  words,  and  pre- 
fer to  hear  talk  rather  than  to  read  and  visualize. 

By  far  the  most  important  of  all  the  senses  is  that  of 
toiich.  Most  of  mental  impressions  and  ideas  are  received 
in  this  manner — ^by  personal  contact  with  objects.  Such 
people  must  touch  the  goods,  work  it  themselves,  and  feel 
it  before  they  are  100%  sold.  It  is  vital  to  good  salesman- 
ship that  every  opportunity  possible  be  provided  for  cus- 
tomers to  touch  the  merchandise.  Even  the  insurance 
business,  difiicult  because  of  the  absence  of  a  concrete  arti- 
cle of  merchandise,  can  be  made  less  difficult  by  giving 
prospects  something,  a  sample  policy  or  a  booklet,  into 
their  hands.  A  prospect  who  takes  the  merchandise  into 
his  own  hands  is  in  a  very  fair  way  to  sell  himself.  It  is 
sheer  folly  for  a  salesman  himself  to  demonstrate  a  mechan- 
ical device  while  the  prospect  stands  idly  by.  Usually  the 
customer  himself  unconsciously  itches  to  make  the  article 
work. 

These  basic  facts  need  ever  to  be  in  a  good  salesman's 
mind  while  selling  so  that  he  may  make  no  fundamental 
error.  The  sheer  mechanics  of  a  prospect's  mind  make 
necessary  such  steps  of  procedure ;  and  they  are  not  theo- 
retical psychology,  but  proven  bodily  fact.  The  safe  course 
is  therefore  to  make  each  sales  presentation  a  combination 
of  appeals  to  all  five  senses,  to  whatever  extent  possible, 
and  to  emphasize  and  stress  whatever  one  of  the  five  ap- 
pears to  be  most  receptive  in  any  individual  prospect.  But 
this  interest  will  quickly  cool  off  unless  the  salesman  is 


PRACTICAL  SALESMANSHIP  PRINCIPLES    259 

prepared  to  produce  proof  and  turn  interest  into  "con- 
viction. ' ' 

203.  Developing  Conviction. — Producing  conviction  re- 
quires above  all  that  the  salesman  himself  be  convinced  of 
the  merits  of  his  case,  otherwise  he  cannot  be  sincere  and 
enthusiastic,  and  can  therefore  not  hope  to  produce  enthu- 
siasm (the  forerunner  of  conviction)  in  the  mind  of  the 
prospect. 

After  the  latter  is  sufficiently  interested  to  listen,  he  is, 
as  a  rule,  either  neutral  or  biased  in  favor  of  some  com- 
peting article.  The  salesman  must  marshal  his  points  so 
that  one  will  lead  logically  into  the  other  with  cumulative 
effect,  until  the  total  impression  he  has  created  has  crowded 
out  of  the  mind  of  the  prospect  any  negative  thought ;  that 
is,  any  thought  that  other  goods  will  answer  just  as  well, 
or  that  other  considerations  do  not  make  the  purchase  ad- 
visable. 

It  is  agreed  that  the  most  common  fault  of  sales  can- 
vasses is  the  scattered  nature  of  the  arguments  offered.  It 
is  vital — especially  in  canvassing  the  higher  type  of  busi- 
ness men — to  assemble  logically  the  proper  material  and 
consideration  for  the  prospect  to  enable  him  to  make  a  clear 
judgment.  If  this  is  not  done,  the  mind  of  the  prospect  is 
led,  not  to  conclusion,  but  to  indecision. 

However,  the  human  mind  cannot  concentrate  on  more 
than  one  thought  at  a  time.  Therefore  it  has  been  found 
preferable  by  successful  salesman  to  put  the  emphasis  on 
one  or  two  of  the  principal  points  at  issue,  and  dwell  on 
them  strongly  and  repeatedly. 

204.  Leading  Points  of  Sales  Appeal. — Every  selling  prop- 
osition has  leading  considerations.  Sometimes  they  may 
not  have  anything  to  do  with  the  merit  of  the  goods.  For 
example,  when  the  customer  mentions  that  he  has  been  dis- 
appointed by  poor  delivery  of  a  competing  concern,  the 
salesman  has  often  secured  orders  by  emphasizing  the  ship- 


260  MODERN  SALESJVIANAGEMENT 

ping  facilities  and  reputation  for  prompt  delivery  of  his 
liouse. 

The  points  of  merit  of  the  product  by  which  the  sales- 
man attempts  to  produce  conviction  are  summed  up  by  suc- 
cessful salesmanagers  as  follows;  in  the  order  of  average 
importance : 


1. 

Appearance 

8. 

Serviceability 

2. 

Material 

9. 

Availability 

3. 

Construction 

10. 

Superiority  over  competing 
articles 

4. 

Durability 

11. 

Price 

5. 

Utility 

12. 

Reputation  of  house 

6. 

Simplicity 

13. 

Delivery  facilities 

7. 

Popularity 

14. 

Credit  terms 

205.  Adjusting  the  Appeal  to  the  Prospect. — When  the 
buyer  is  an  expert  judge  of  the  goods,  the  sales  talk  which 
is  most  successful  has  been  found  to  be  an  elaboration  of 
the  points  which  seem  to  impress  the  buyer  most  favorably. 

As  a  rule,  buyers  are  influenced  to  a  degree  by  the  judg- 
ment of  other  buyers  who  have  ordered  the  goods.  One 
of  the  most  powerful  levers,  it  has  been  found,  is  the  signed 
orders  (or  duplicates)  which  a  salesman  has  been  able  to 
show  his  prospect,  proving  that  other  dealers  or  users  have 
placed  orders.  Such  exliibits  are  still  more  convincing  if 
the  signatures  shown  are  by  firms  known  to  the  buyer  either 
personally  or  by  reputation. 

Testimonials,  original  or  reproduced  in  facsimile  or  in 
print,  have  been  found  less  convincing;  but  they  are  better 
than  no  evidence  of  popularity  or  recommendation. 

For  selling  technical  products,  technical  knowledge  of 
them  is  of  course  important.  It  is  now  recognized  that  gen- 
eral technical  education  or  factor)^  training  for  articles  to 
be  sold  to  those  who  have  a  technical  discrimination  is 
very  desirable — though  it  cannot  be  relied  upon. 


PRACTICAL  SALESMANSHIP  PRINCIPLES    261 

"When  the  buyer  is  not  well  versed  in  the  line,  successful 
salesmen  attribute  their  orders  to  the  fact  that  they  have 
emphasized  the  reliability  of  their  statements  and  of  the 
policy  of  the  house. 

If  the  sales  interview  is  so  managed  that  the  buyer  can 
check  up  the  statements  of  the  salesman  right  then  and 
there,  a  great  step  toward  the  sale  has  been  made. 

206.  Studying  the  Prospect. — The  central  problem  in  sell- 
ing is  conceded  to  be  bringing  the  prospect  to  feel  about 
your  proposition  the  way  you  feel.  This  makes  it  necessary 
to  find  the  "point  of  contact"  between  you  and  him. 

Now,  point  of  contact  between  people  is  rarely  imper- 
sonal— it  is  personal  and  temperamental.  The  salesman 
usually  finds  it  necessary  first  to  sell  Ids  personality  before 
he  can  sell  his  goods. 

To  correctly  size  uj)  the  prospect  is  just  as  important 
to  the  salesman  as  a  knowledge  of  the  goods  he  hopes  to  sell 
him.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  salesman's  chief  value  lies 
in  his  ability  to  distinguish  between  people — to  judge  them, 
meet  them,  adapt  to  their  capacity  suitable  sales  arguments. 

It  is  possible  to  write  entire  books  describing  the  psy- 
chology of  people,  but,  after  all,  saleswork  deals  with  com- 
mon, workaday  averages,  and  few  salesmen  can  be  wizards 
of  psychology. 

The  psychology  of  selling  must  therefore  be  brought  down 
to  working  formulas,  however  rough  in  our  present  state 
of  knowledge,  such  as  the  average  salesman  can  easily  com- 
prehend. Practice  by  large  firms  has  proved  that  the  clever 
and  hypnotically  psychological  salesman  is  often  more  in- 
terested in  his  psychology  and  cleverness  than  in  the  cus- 
tomer. 

The  keynote  which  is  most  generally  agreed  upon  as 
bringing  the  best  results  in  selling  is  the  keynote  of  com- 
mon sense,  plain  honest  talk  and  the  impression  of  a  sincere 
desire  to  solve  the  problems  of  the  prospect. 


262  MODERN  SALESIVL^NAGEMENT 

The  salesman's  part  is  not  to  use  his  own  personality  or 
the  personality  of  the  prospect  to  merely  close  an  order — 
it  is  his  first  duty  to  render  service.  Unless  he  is  satisfied 
that  service  can  he  rendered  to  a  prospect  for  value  asked 
no  good  salesman  has  any  business  even  to  attempt  to  sell. 
The  principles  of  service  rendering  apply  to  the  salesman 
as  well  as  to  the  house. 

Nevertheless,  as  there  are  two  very  pronounced  types  of 
people,  there  must  be  two  separate  methods  of  approach, 
once  a  salesman  is  face  to  face  with  a  prospect  to  whom 
serv'ice  can  be  rendered. 

The  first,  the  "head  type,"  is  most  readily  influenced  by 
appeals  to  facts,  data  and  reason;  the  "heart  type"  by 
appeals  to  suggestion,  imagination  and  emotion.  No  pros- 
pect is  100%  "heart"  or  100%  "head"— the  qualities  are 
always  more  or  less  mixed,  but  one  always  predominates. 
Feeling  is  a  factor  to  reckon  with  even  in  the  "head" 
type. 

The  prospect  reveals  himself  by  his  (a)  Appearance; 
(b)  Speech  and  acts. 

207.  Analyzing  Physical  Appearance:  Forehead  and  Eyes. 
— The  following  "appearance"  indicators  have  been  found 
fairly  reliable  by  salesmen  and  executives  who  have  an- 
alyzed the  subject  (bearing  in  mind  that  in  not  a  few  cases 
"all  signs  fail"). 

Forehead:  Broad,  high,  square  shaped  forehead  indi- 
cates analytical  power,  intelligence,  perseverance,  severity. 
The  more  it  tends  toward  rounded  and  cornerless  outlines, 
the  more  flexibility  of  character  does  it  indicate.  The  re- 
treating forehead  indicates  imagination,  feeling,  wit  and 
keen  perception.  The  projecting  forehead  is  a  sign  of 
weakness  of  will. 

Eyes:  The  eyes  indicate  the  feelings  rather  than  the 
intellect.     This  is  due  not  so  much  to  their  physical  char- 


PRACTICAL  SALESMANSHIP  PRINCIPLES     263 

acteristies  as  to  their  expression — ^to  their  action,  which  is 
to  a  large  extent  involuntary. 

A  clear,  direct  gaze,  unassumed  and  natural,  is  a  sign  of 
sincerity,  but  not  an  infallible  one,  as  many  men  have 
nervous  mannerisms  which  make  them  appear  "shifty." 
Other  factors  must  be  studied  for  corroboration  before  any 
judgment  can  be  verified.  Items  of  eye-study  are  as  fol- 
lows: 

Blue  and  gray  eyes  often  denote  a  cold  temperament; 
brown  and  black  eyes  usually  denote  an  individual  more 
responsive  to  emotions,  but  there  are  many  exceptions  to 
this  rule,  especially  among  those  whose  eyes  are  large  and 
round. 

Small  eyes  denote  an  analytical,  calculating  disposition. 

Large  round  or  oval  eyes  with  sharply  delineated  eyelids 
indicate  a  temperament  quick  to  react,  full  of  imagination 
and  feeling. 

Eyes  set  too  closely  together  or  too  far  apart  indicate 
a  tendency  to  abnormality. 

Eyebrows  that  are  straight  indicate  firmness,  vigor  and 
self-reliance. 

Eyebrows  curved  and  arched  indicate  temperament  and 
emotion. 

The  action  of  the  eyebrows  is  a  very  important  symptom 
to  watch  in  a  sales  interview.  Raised  eyebrows  show  sur- 
prise and  attention.  Lowered  eyebrows  show  an  antagon- 
istic attitude. 

When  the  prospect  keeps  looking  at  you  or  your  goods, 
he  shows  he  is  interested.  When  his  eyes  move  about  rest- 
lessly, it  means  lack  of  concentration  and  interest. 

208.  Analyzing  Physical  Appearance:  lips,  Chin,  Etc. — 
The  lower  half  of  the  face  is  also  worth  watching,  not  only 
for  its  construction,  but  also  for  its  expression. 

Thin  lips,  set  in  a  straight  line  (especially  when  accom- 
panied by  a  thin  nose)  usually  indicate  coldness,  precision, 


264  LIODERN  SALESIMANAGEMENT 

industry,  order,  etc.  If  tliey  are  drawn  down  at  the  cor- 
ners, they  show  a  weak  or  pessimistic  disposition. 

Large,  well-defined  lips  show  presence  of  energy  and 
vitality.  Lips,  however  large,  if  well  formed,  well  closed, 
indicate  power,  ability,  energy,  and  good  sense.  A  small 
mouth  is  often  an  indication  of  pettiness ;  a  large  mouth 
is  often  an  indication  of  a  good  sense  of  humor  and  good 
nature. 

A  small  chin  usually  indicates  a  weak  nature  and  a  fussy 
disposition,  a  large  chin  indicates  stubbornness  and  will- 
power, and  a  practical  disposition. 

The  surroundings  of  a  man  speak  perhaps  more  than 
his  person.  Good  logic  is  essential  in  making  deductions. 
A  man  whose  office  is  clean  as  a  pin  and  snappy  and  up- 
to-date  can  be  talked  to  as  a  live  wire  "head  type"  on  the 
standard,  snappy  business  basis,  without  any  studied-out 
approach  or  indirect  language.  The  man  whose  office  is 
not  up-to-date  and  in  which  are  evidences  of  lack  of  success 
and  ability — ^this  is  the  man  whose  approach  is  the  hardest. 
He  is  invariably  a  heart  type  man,  or  a  head  type  "gone 
to  seed"  with  hobbies  and  theories. 

Between  these  two  extreme  types  lie  all  the  intermediary 
types. 

209.  Speech  and  Acts. — It  is  a  fact  generally  agreed  to 
that  what  a  man  says  is  by  far  the  surest  and  most  scien- 
tific way  to  analyze  him;  considerably  more  trustworthy 
than  size-ups  of  physical  appearance.  Any  man  who  talks 
500  words  to  a  good  salesman  will  get  himself  accurately 
tagged.  Business  men  higher  up  have  long  recognized  this 
principle.  Most  of  the  biggest  captains  of  industiy — the 
late  J.  P.  Morgan  and  E.  H.  Harriman,  as  well  as  George 
F.  Baer,  Cyrus  Curtis,  Thos.  F.  Ryan,  have  been  examples 
of  men  noted  for  their  silence.  They  have  not  given  the 
other  fellow  the  opportunity  to  know  their  mind,  until 
they  have  made  a  final  decision. 


PRACTICAL  SALESMANSHIP  PRINCIPLES    265 

For  tliis  reason,  what  the  prospect  says  is  an  important 
study  for  salesmen.  The  rate  of  speed  at  which  the  pros- 
pect talks  is  important  to  watch,  because  it  is  the  infallible 
speedometer  that  shows  how  rapidly  or  how  slowly  he 
thinks.  It  has  been  found  that  the  most  successful  sales- 
men are  those  who  adjust  the  speed  of  their  utterance  to 
the  speed  of  the  mental  processes  of  the  prospect,  so  that 
the  latter  can  grasp  the  thought  without  any  strain. 

The  next  important  symptom  on  the  part  of  the  prospect 
to  watch,  is  his  Jiabii  of  thaiight.  If  he  asks  many  ques- 
tions it  shows  an  analytical  mind  that  can  be  interested 
most  readily  by  presenting  your  subject  in  an  analytical 
manner.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  prospect  waits  for  you 
to  build  up  your  proposition  for  him,  without  later  on  ask- 
ing questions,  the  experienced  salesman  will  not  spend 
much  time  in  going  into  all  the  details  of  a  proposition  but 
will  devote  his  energy  to  talking  its  advantages  and  results 
as  a  whole. 

These  and  scores  of  other  individual  points  are  indicated 
in  what  a  prospect  says  and  how — in  what  tone  of  voice, 
with  what  accompanying  gestures  and  looks. 

The  special  considerations  utilized  in  studying  the  pros- 
pect are  these: 

The  man  who  receives  a  salesman  without  scarcely  in- 
terrupting his  own  work,  can  be  interested  only  if  some 
very  important  argument  is  made  at  once.  The  prospect 
who  receives  the  salesman  in  the  attitude  of  a  caller  re- 
quires some  preliminary  courtesies  before  broaching  the 
subject  proper. 

It  is  particularly  important  to  watch  all  the  possible 
symptoms  until  it  has  been  ascertained  that  they  indicate 
interest  on  the  part  of  the  prospect. 

Then  it  is  up  to  the  salesman  to  use  this  interest  aroused 
as  an  entering  wedge  and  make  sure  that  it  does  not  lag. 
If  it  does,  the  veteran  salesman  changes  his  conversation 


266  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMBNT 

so  it  will  create  new  interest.  Without  interest  there  can 
be  no  attention ;  without  attention  there  can  be  no  convic- 
tion ;  without  conviction  there  can  be  no  sale. 

210.  Working  Toward  a  "Close." — After  conviction  has 
been  produced  to  the  point  of  "culmination"  (which  point 
can  be  sensed  only  after  some  practice),  the  order  must  be 
closed.  Otherwise  the  salesman  "talks  himself  in  and  out 
of  the  order. ' ' 

It  has  been  found  wise  not  to  formally  ask  the  prospect 
to  sign  the  order.  The  best  results  have  been  obtained 
when  the  willingness  to  order  has  been  taken  as  a  matter 
of  course.  To  put  the  issue  to  the  test,  the  veteran  sales- 
man as  a  rule  brings  it  in  incidentally.  For  example,  he 
will  ask  such  questions  as  these :  ' '  How  many  did  you  say 
you  wanted?"  or  "When  shall  we  ship  these  goods?"  etc. 

When  the  prospect  ' '  balks ' '  the  skilled  salesman  tries  to 
find  out  the  specific  reason  and  then  reiterates  his  best 
arguments  to  overcome  the  objection.  It  is  at  this  point 
that  the  training  of  the  salesman  and  the  "sales  manual" 
are  proving  useful.  With  their  help  he  can  utilize  the 
arguments  that  have  been  found  most  successful  in  handling 
similar  cases  before. 

In  many  cases  it  is  found  desirable  to  go  over  the  same 
point  repeatedly,  but  from  different  angles  and  in  differ- 
ent forms,  so  as  to  avoid  monotony,  which  would  make  the 
presentation  repulsive.  Some  sales  veterans  are  very 
skilled  in  these  "rebuttal"  talks. 

It  is  agreed  that  adeptness  at  "turning"  an  argument 
after  this  fashion  or  in  meeting  discourtesy,  stubbornness, 
hasty  or  illogical  argument  constitutes  a  good  salesman's 
best  capital,  for,  after  all,  business  men  buy  because  their 
imaginations  have  been  appealed  to.  Selling  arguments 
must  be  adapted  not  only  to  the  goods,  but  also  to  the 
particular  type  of  individuality  personified  in  the  buyer. 
The  final  pressure  of  personality  against  personality,  which 


PRACTICAL  SALESMANSHIP  PRINCIPLES    267 

so  often  becomes  a  factor  in  closing  a  sale,  is  the  ultimate 
test. 

211.  The  Fine  Art  of  "Closing". — The  principal  qualifi- 
caiion  of  salesmanship  is  ability  to  close.  "Closing"  is  the 
pivot  of  salesmanship — and  a  close  study  of  it  is  tre- 
mendously  important.  The  following  points  must  be  kept 
in  mind  by  the  man  who  wants  to  be  a  successful  ' '  closer. ' ' 

Watch  for  the  point  when  the  resistance  of  your  prospect 
ceases. 

This  is  commonly  called  the  ** psychological  moment." 
When  it  arrives  stop  arguing  and  write  down  the  order 
or  have  the  prospect  write  it  out  or  sign  it. 

If  you  do  not  seem  able  to  reach  this  point  during  your 
first  interview,  you  must  make  additional  calls.  It  is  im- 
portant, therefore,  that  you  do  not  leave  the  prospect  in 
an  unfavorable  frame  of  mind  that  will  close  the  door  to 
future  calls. 

As  a  rule,  the  more  important  the  proposition  the  more 
calls  are  necessary  before  reaching  a  close.  But  the  master- 
salesman  prides  himself  on  his  ability  to  close  on  the  first 
call. 

If  possible,  prove  to  the  prospect  that  now  is  a  par- 
ticularly opportune  time  to  sign  the  order.  Good  reasons 
for  such  prompt  action,  if  they  can  be  truthfully  given, 
are — the  probability  of  an  increase  in  price ;  ability  to  ship 
promptly;  special  discounts  or  inducements  for  prompt 
orders;  limited  stock,  that  may  prevent  late  orders  being 
filled  or  at  least  from  being  filled  as  promptly ;  a  chance  to 
get  ahead  of  his  competitors  (one  of  the  most  powerful 
arguments) . 

Subtly  make  the  prospect  feel  that,  as  a  man  of  sound 
judgment,  he  can — in  his  own  interest — hardly  arrive  at 
any  other  decision  than  signing  the  order;  that  not  to  do 
so  would  really  be  a  reflection  against  his  common  sense. 
This  is  a  strong  weapon  but  should  not  be  clumsily  used. 


268  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

If  necessary  to  go  over  the  prospect's  head  to  a  superior 
officer,  the  polite  but  determined  announcement  to  that 
effect  will  often  result  in  an  order,  for  few  people  like  to 
be  placed  "in  the  background"  as  is  done  by  such  a  pro- 
posed action.  A  delicate  question  as  to  whom  the  prospect 
confers  with  usually  in  such  matters  will  develop  the  neces- 
sary man  "higher  up." 

Become  politely  impatient,  showing  the  prospect  that 
you  can  give  him  no  further  time  on  this  proposition  and 
that  his  refusal  to  accept  it  will  mean  more  loss  to  him 
than  to  you  or  your  firm. 

If  this  siege  does  not  bring  an  order,  come  back  again, 
and  again  presenting  your  story  from  different  angles,  es- 
pecially such  angles  as  fit  your  prospect.  They  will  occur 
to  you  as  you  study  over  the  situation. 

When  the  prospect  raises  objections,  he  shows  that  he  is 
interested  because  he  suggests  the  points  that  are  not  clear 
in  his  mind.  Primed  with  the  proper  answers  for  these 
objections,  they  can  be  overcome. 

The  prospect  who  is  silent  or  who  agrees  with  the  sales- 
man on  everything  in  a  perfunctory  manner,  devoid  of  all 
enthusiasm,  is  the  most  difficult  to  convince.  He  is  usually 
a  purely  "head"  type  and  must  be  "closed"  impersonally 
for  cold  reasons. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

STANDARDIZING  THE  WORK  OF  SELLING 

212.  Why  Selling  Requires  Standardizing. — The  hallu- 
cination that  selling  is  a  mysterious  individual  gift  is  ex- 
ploded. The  knowledge  is  current  that  there  is,  after  all, 
one  best  way  to  sell  a  given  proposition  (with,  of  course, 
some  margin  of  scope  for  individual  application).  There- 
fore, it  is  a  serious  part  of  salesmanagement  to  standardize 
the  work  of  selling  so  far  as  is  wise  or  possible.  No  trained 
salesmanager  for  a  moment  believes  in  making  automatons 
out  of  his  salesmen — but  he  also  knows  the  weaknesses  of 
salesmen  as  a  class,  and  he  knows  that  a  certain  degree 
of  standardization  is  an  actual  necessity  for  a  high  degree 
of  efficiency.  He  knows  that  dependence  upon  ''star" 
salesmen  is  a  will-o'-the-wisp;  that  his  chief  dependence 
and  concern  is  with  the  average  level  of  salesmen,  and 
with  the  "tail-enders."  He  does  not,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
believe  in  "star"  salesmen — he  knows  them  to  be  erratic, 
dangerous,  variable,  egotistical  and  unsound  in  method. 

He  wants  teachable,  intelligent,  steady  salesmen  who  will 
mould  themselves  to  a  plan  and  who  respond  to  leader- 
ship in  concerted  action — which  means  standardization  to 
a  certain  degree. 

Conclusive  proof  of  the  need  of  standardizing  may  be 
had  by  any  salesmanager  by  arranging  for  each  salesman 
in  turn  to  give  him  a  private  demonstration  of  the  tech- 
nical features  of  the  article.  It  will  be  a  rare  instance 
that  will  not  show  up  the  use  by  salesmen  of  almost  as 
many  different  names  for  a  part,  or  as  many  varying  ex- 

269 


270  MODERN  SALES]\L\NAGEMENT 

planations  of  the  use  and  value  of  a  feature  as  there  are 
salesmen.  Salesmen  themselves  will  be  astonished  to  learn 
that  they  have  by  habit  departed  from  the  facts  and  made 
mistaken  demonstrations,  calling  things  by  wrong  names, 
stressing  the  wrong  features,  ignoring  others  that  are 
most  important  and  in  general  garbled  the  real  situa- 
tion. Proper  standardization  would  have  avoided  this,  as 
salesmen  are  often  poor  observers,  or  poor  mechanics  and 
in  general  unskilled  in  the  analysis  which  should  proceed 
before  building  up  a  standard  argument. 

The  need  for  standardization  is  much  wider  and  broader 
than  this,  however.  Some  firms  have  found  it  advantage- 
ous even  to  go  so  far  as  to  standardize  the  appearance  of 
their  sales  people.  A  number  of  firms  now  require  specific 
standards  in  the  matter  of  the  linen  and  shaving  habits  of 
their  salesmen ;  to  insure  this,  some  even  assume  a  part 
of  the  laundry  expense  of  their  sales  people. 

213.  Standardizing  House  Policy. — It  is  now  conceded  to 
be  essential  that  the  policy  of  the  firm  must  be  standard- 
ized; otherwise  it  is  difficult  to  treat  all  customers  of  the 
same  kind  on  the  same  basis.  Salesmen  are  thus  enabled 
to  tell  each  customer  just  what  he  may  expect  in  the  way 
of  credit  accommodations,  terms  of  pajTuent,  adjustment 
of  complaints,  time  of  shipment,  methods  of  packing,  ad- 
vertising, assistance,  etc. 

In  the  chapter  on  i)olicy  (Chapter  VI)  an  outline  is 
given  of  the  policy  factors  which  are  important,  and  the 
main  principle  to  be  observed  if  any  sales  policy  is  to  be 
a  success  is  that  it  be  standardized.  "AVobbling"  on  policy 
makes  every  other  sales  factor  wobble,  including  the  sales- 
men's  esprit  de  corps. 

House  policy  should  be  sufficiently  standardized  so  that 
salesmen  can  find  it  in  their  sales  manuals  and  data  books, 
unmistakable,  clear  and  unvariable, 

214.  The  Sales  Manual. — This  is  the  natural  and  con- 


STANDARDIZING  THE  WORK  OF  SELLING    271 

venient  vehicle  for  standardizing  the  work  of  selling.  The 
sales  manual  is  a  well-known  and  widely  used  device — 
overdone  by  some,  but  far  more  usually  underdone. 

A  salesman  without  an  adequate  sales  manual  is  a  pilot 
without  a  compass,  trusting  to  blind  instinct.  He  is  de- 
frauded of  what  he  has  a  full  right  to  expect  from  the 
salesmanagement.  A  salesman  of  the  modern  kind  knows 
of  his  own  accord  that  it  is  folly  and  injustice  to  stick  a 
grip  of  samples  into  his  hand,  give  him  a  ticket  to  his  terri- 
tory and  shake  his  hand  good-by.  The  manual  is  no  more 
formidable  a  thing  than  a  convenient  note-book  of  house 
instructions  and  suggestions,  arranged  in  an  orderly  way. 

Standardizing  the  methods  by  which  a  salesman  can 
make  a  sale,  does  not  mean  making  a  parrot  of  him.  It 
does  mean,  however,  giving  him  the  benefit  of  the  result 
of  the  experience  of  the  entire  organization  and  of  other 
sales  talents,  in  sharpening  his  own  sales  ability. 

The  Sales  Manual  is  a  book  of  standard  practice,  com- 
piled for  the  exclusive  use  of  the  sales  organization.  Some 
are  limited  to  a  thorough  description  of  the  goods  and 
their  uses.  Others  include  also  points  of  comparison  with 
competing  goods.  Still  others  include  rules  on  salesman- 
ship and  a  complete  list  of  the  selling  arguments  and  an- 
swers to  objections — all  are  compiled  as  the  result  of  care- 
ful study.  Some  even  go  so  far  as  to  include  rules  foi^ 
the  health,  appearance  and  morals  of  the  salesmen. 

215.  Table  of  Contents  for  the  Sales  Manual. — The  fol- 
lowing is  a  broad  outline  of  an  actual  Sales  Manual: 

1.  Introductions :  Rewards  of  Salesmanship 

Factors  of  Success 
Necessity  of  Study 
Trial  period 

2.  Merchandise:     Its  manufacture 

Characteristics 


272  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

Properties 
Its  many  uses 
3.    Preparation  for:  How  to  study  the  manual 
Sales  training:  How  to  study  the  samples 
How  to  study  the  customer 
Salesmen's  outfit 

4.  The  Territory :  How  to  analyze  the  territory 

Location  of  field 

Dividing  towns 

Block  system 

Procedure  in  new  territory 

Procedure  in  old  territory 

5.  The  Prospect:  Gaining  an  audience 

Preliminary  questions  to  ask 
Showing  samples 
Demonstrations 
Closing  the  sale 
Overcoming  objections 
Policy  of  the  house 

6.  Specialties  of  the  House 

7.  General  Helps  and  Hints 

8.  The  Salesman  and  the  Company 

9.  Suggestions  on  Health  and  Personal  Standards 
10.     Talks  on  Salesmanship 

Further  details  of  standardization  of  saleswork  will  be 
found  in  the  chapter  on  Sales  System  and  Graphic  Records. 

216.  Ideal  Plan  for  Contents  of  Sales  Manual. — If  a  sales 
manual  is  to  be  built  containing  all  that  an  ideal  sales 
manual  might  logically  carry,  the  following  outline  (sug- 
gested by  the  Dartnell  Corporation)  is  very  good : 
Division  1. — History  of  the  Business  and  its  Policies. 

a.  Importance  of  Selling  the  House  as  "Well  as  Products. 

b.  Human  Interest  Story  of  Inception  of  Business. 


STANDARDIZING  THE  WORK  OF  SELLING    273 

c.  Something  About  the  Founders  and  Their  Person- 
alities. 

d.  The  Distinguishing  Policies — How  They  Grew  Up. 

e.  Organization "Who's  Who"  Among  Executives. 

f.  Chart  Showing  Growth  of  Business  in  Late  Years. 

g.  * '  The  Future ' ' — Signed  Statement  by  President. 
Division  2. — Personal  Selling  Suggestions. 

a.  How  to  Get  "Live"  Leads. 

b.  Qualifications   of   a   Good    Salesman — Self-Analysis 
Chart. 

c.  What  a  Salesman  Should  Study — Outline  Course. 

d.  Mental  Equipment  Each  Salesman  Should  Develop. 

e.  Physical  Equipment  Each  Salesman  Must  Carry. 

f.  Suggestions  for  Using  Said  Equipment  to  Best  Ad- 
vantage. 

Division  3.— The  Product— What  It  Is. 

a.  Points  to  Remember  About  Raw  Materials. 

b.  Distinguishing  Manufacturing  Processes  and  Meth- 
ods. 

e.     Illustrations  that  Demonstrate  Superiority  in  Manu- 
facture. 

d.     Main  Talking  Points  in  Tabloid  Form. 
Division  4. — The  Product — ^What  It  Does. 

a.  Analysis  Chart  of  Uses,  both  developed  and  unde- 
veloped, 

b.  Photographic    and    Documentary   Evidence   of    Su- 
periority. 

c.  Letters  from  Users — Fac-similes  of  Big  Orders. 

d.  List  of  "Halo"  Customers  by  Territory. 
Division  5. — Standard  Sales  Presentation. 

a.  Importance  of  Standardized  Sales  Presentation. 

b.  Suggestions     for     Approaching     and     Interesting 
Buyers. 

e.  Model   Canvass  with   Sales  Arguments   in   Tabloid 
Form. 


274  MODERN  SALIiSMANAGEMENT 

d.  The  Demonstration. 

e.  Introducing  Prices,  Terms  and  Delivery. 

f.  Suggestions  for  Closing  Sales — When  and  How. 
Division  6. — The  Order  and  its  Execution. 

a.  Importance  of  Signed  Orders — ]\Iake  Them  Out  Care- 
fully. 

b.  Reproduction  of  "Well-Executed  Orders. 

c.  What  a  Salesman  Should  Know  About  Credits. 

d.  Following  the  Order  Through  the  Factory. 

e.  "Don'ts"  to  Remember  in  Writing  Orders. 
Division   7. — General   Instnictions   and    Rules   for   Sales- 
men. 

a.  Regarding  Relations  with  Various  Departments. 

b.  Regarding    Correspondence   with    House    and   with 
Customers. 

c.  Regarding    Cooperation    with    Advertising   Depart- 
ment. 

d.  Regarding  Reports,  Expense  Accounts,  and  Route 
List. 

e.  Regarding  Attitude  Toward  Customers. 
Division  8. — Answers  to  Common  Objections. 

These  may  be  secured  by  a  general  letter  to  salesmen 
first  asking  them  to  list  objections  they  most  frequently 
encounter,  and  then  furnishing  digest  of  these  objec- 
tions to  all  salesmen,  asking  each  one  to  submit  his  best 
answer  to  each.  Thus  a  composite  answer  will  be  se- 
cured that  represents  the  combined  ability  of  the  en- 
tire staff. 

Division  9. — "Don't"  for  Salesmen. 

a.  Concerning  Personal  Appearance,  Voice  and  Poise. 

b.  Concerning  Habits,  Deportment  and  Industry. 

c.  Concerning  Competition  and  House  Policies. 

d.  Concerning  Temptations  Commonly  Encountered. 

e.  General  Reminders  and  Suggestions. 


STANDARDIZING  THE  WORK  OF  SELLING    275 

217.  Standardizing  Salesmen's  Equipment. — There  is  a 
marked  tendency  to  reduce  the  number  of  samples  carried, 
and  to  standardize  salesmen's  equipment.  Salesmen  in 
some  lines  formerly  traveled  with  5  or  7  trunks.  Now 
they  carry  one  trunk,  and  instead  of  showing  everything 
by  samples,  they  show  standardized  samples,  gelatine  color 
prints,  cross  section  exhibits,  portfolios  of  photographs,  etc. 
Even  jewelry  is  now  handled  in  this  way.  Salesmen's  out- 
fits are  so  thoroughly  standardized  that  loss  of  time  or 
money  is  reduced  to  the  minimum.  Each  outfit  is  num- 
bered and  imprinted,  and  charged  to  each  salesman  until 
he  returns  it.  Many  firms  now  make  it  a  practice  to  tag 
each  exhibit  with  uniform  labels,  on  each  of  which  is 
printed  a  summary  of  the  main  talking  points  for  each 
article. 

218.  Standardization  Through  Symbols. — The  standard- 
ization of  the  titles  of  the  goods  through  the  use  of  symbols, 
Dewey  decimal  system,  etc.,  is  now  being  adopted.  The 
aim  is  to  conserve  time  in  taking  orders.  The  use  of  sym- 
bolic and  Dewey  decimal  systems  makes  it  possible  for 
salesmen  to  avoid  errors,  eliminate  loss  of  time  and  money 
in  writing  and  wiring,  and  also  to  simplify  the  book- 
keeping. 

Symbols  are  great  time  savers.  One  firm,  for  example, 
utilizes  the  following  symbols  throughout  its  organization : 

Rt — retail  Spg — sporting  goods  trade 

Wh — wholesale  Drg — drug  trade 

So — scheme  Sta — Stationery  trade 

Ex — Export  Dgs — dry  goods  trade 

Jly — jewelry  trade  Gnl — general  store 

Hdw — hardware  trade,  etc.  Dpt — department  store 

A  firm  which  has  many  products  and  many  pieces  of 
advertising  finds  it  most  efficient  to  give  each  salesman  a 
loose-leaf  portfolio  in  which  all  the  available  advertising 


276  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

matter  is  represented  by  a  specimen  of  each,  designated  by 
a  symbolic  mark  for  convenient  reference.  Generally  a  let- 
ter desig^nates  the  kind  of  goods  featured  by  the  adver- 
tising matter. 

For  example,  B  indicates  booklet ;  F  indicates  folder ;  C 
indicates  catalog;  L  indicates  letter.  HP  indicates  house 
paints;  FV  floor  varnish;  PB  paint  bnishes;  FL  follow- 
up  letter.  Numbers  indicate  specific  pieces  of  literature: 
for  illustration  B27  HP  would  be  the  standard  symbol 
for  a  specific  booklet  upon  house  paints;  F15  FV  a  specific 
folder  upon  the  subject  of  floor  varnish. 

Standardized  Order  Blanks  for  Use  ii'ith  Symhols. — One 
paint  house  has  standardized  its  entire  line  of  products 
and  its  printed  matter  with  symbols  of  this  character  and 
salesmen  are  furnished  with  standardized  order  blanks  with 
these  symbols  under  various  sub-heads,  enabling  them  to 
write  the  name  and  shipping  instructions  of  each  customer 
and  to  indicate  the  quantity  of  goods  and  printed  matter 
without  writing  any  descriptions.  This  makes  the  order 
easy  to  handle  and  fill  when  received  at  the  office. 

At  first  glance  it  might  seem  as  though  salesmen  would 
resent  being  told  or  shown  just  how  to  route  themselves, 
just  what  streets  to  work  in  a  town,  just  what  trains  are 
best  to  enable  them  to  work  the  most  towns  in  the  shortest 
time.  But  when  it  is  explained  to  them  that  the  routing 
has  been  figured  out  as  a  result  of  past  performances,  they 
appreciate  that  their  time  and  energy  can  be  conserved. 

219.  Standardizing  Salesmen's  "Jumps." — One  of  the 
reasons  why  a  salesman's  second  trip  over  the  territory  is, 
as  a  rule,  more  productive  than  his  first,  is  because  he  is 
more  familiar  with  local  and  territorial  conditions.  The 
result  of  standardizing  his  territory  is  to  give  him  all  the 
possible  information  in  advance.  Thus  his  time  is  econo- 
mized for  actual  sales  work ;  that  is,  time  spent  in  contact 
with  prospects  or  customers. 


STANDARDIZING  THE  WORK  OF  SELLING    277 

The  Du  Pont  de  Nemours  Powder  Co.,  for  example,  has 
paid  much  attention  to  studying  the  short  and  long  jumps 
of  their  salesmen,  with  very  satisfactory  results.  This 
question  is  no  longer  left  to  the  individual  judgment  of  the 
salesman.  When  it  is  considered  that  the  time  spent  by 
the  salesman  in  actually  consummating  a  sale  is  very  much 
less  than  the  time  he  spends  in  getting  to  his  customers, 
the  importance  of  economizing  his  traffic  schedule  is  evi- 
dent. 

The  National  Biscuit  Company  has  routing  standardiza- 
tion down  to  so  fine  a  point  that  it  instructs  salesmen  which 
streets  to  walk  down,  how  much  time  to  give  to  each  street, 
when  and  where  to  take  lunch,  when  and  whether  to  take 
a  street  car,  etc. 

220.  Standardized  Definitions. — It  is  quite  important  to 
develop  standard  terms  with  standard  meanings  in  order 
to  avoid  confusion.  Otherwise  everyone 's  definition  of  the 
term  "customer,"  or  "prospect,"  etc.,  will  differ. 

Each  business  has  its  own  special  angles,  but  the  terms 
"customer,"  "prospect,"  etc.,  should  have  a  generally  ap- 
plicable standard  meaning.  The  best  standard  definitions 
yet  worked  out  are  these: 

"Customer" — A  purchaser  within  the  past  six  months. 

"Prospect" — A  concern  which  has  indicated  a  desire 
to  do  business  and  has  been  called  upon  within  a  year  by 
salesmen,  or  reached  by  circular  matter,  and  which  haa 
responded  within  a  year. 

"Desirable  Customers,"  (DC). — A  concern  which  should 
logically  do  business  with  the  house,  but  which  has  not  yet 
responded. 

Other  more  individual  definitions  applicable  to  the  par- 
ticular line  of  business  or  the  concern's  own  conditions 
should  be  developed  and  standardized. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

INTJfcflLOCKING  SALES  AND  ADVERTISING  EFFORT 

221.  Should  Functions  of  Sales  and  Advertising  Manager 
be  Combined? — The  combination  of  Sales  and  Advertising 
Manager  into  one  individual  is  undoubtedly  wrong  or- 
ganization policy,  though  widely  practiced, 

A  good  organization  demands  that  each  individual  pos- 
sess the  temperamental  and  technical  qualifications  for  the 
function  he  is  assigned  to.  Yet,  much  as  the  two  divisions 
of  work  have  in  common,  sales  and  advertising  manage- 
ment are  nevertheless  fundamentally  different  and  separate 
functions.  In  a  number  of  important  aspects  (though  not 
all),  they  require  absolutely  different  temperaments;  while 
the  technique  of  each  of  the  two  jobs  is  absolutely  differ- 
ent in  detail.  And  in  each  case  this  technique  is  worthy 
of  one  man's  entire  brains  and  time,  in  any  but  a  quite 
small  business. 

Circulation,  rates,  typography,  copy,  artwork,  trade- 
marks, consumer  psychology — all  these  and  other  subjects 
are  intricate  and  technical  subjects  which  must  constantly 
be  studied.  There  is  an  entirely  separate  and  distinct 
technique  and  a  very  real  and  intricate  one  for  salesman- 
agement. 

A  salesmanager,  no  matter  how  broad  or  how  tempera- 
mentally he  may  be  said  to  be  fitted  for  both  sales  and 
advertising  manager,  cannot  possibly  give  enough  time  to 
each  of  the  subjects  to  keep  up  with  the  technique  of  his 
job  in  the  way  that  he  ought  to,  and  at  the  same  time  be 
all  that  a  salesmanager  ought  to  be. 

278 


INTERLOCKING  SALES  AND  ADVERTISING    279 

The  sonorous  title  of  "sales  and  advertising  manager" 
is  often  retained  by  one  man,  even  when  the  function  of 
advertising  management  is  performed  by  an  assistant.  But 
sometimes  such  men  are  more  advertising  manager  than 
salesmanager,  or  vice  versa,  and  have  the  same  fatal  limi- 
tations that  a  salesmanager  has  who  can  never  quite  feel  at 
home  in  advertising  matters,  or  vice  versa.  The  principle 
is  unsound. 

222.  Sales  and  Advertising  Differences  Defined. — The 
great  vital  difference  between  sales  and  advertising  man- 
agement is  that  the  advertising  man  concentrates  his  ef- 
forts upon  the  mass-mind.  In  other  words,  he  reaches  the 
typical  prospect  rather  than  the  individual  prospect ;  he 
aims  at  a  composite  picture  rather  than  the  individual  pic- 
ture. The  study  and  influencing  of  this  mass-mind  is  the 
ad  man's  distinctive,  special  province.  It  is  true  that 
the  salesmanager  includes  in  his  broad  scope  the  mass- 
mind;  but  only  in  a  secondary  way.  The  practical  opera- 
tion of  salesmanagement  compels  him  to  have  a  great  deal 
more  to  do  with  the  individual  mind  than  the  mass-mind, 
because  the  salesmen  are  the  salesmanager 's  chief  responsi- 
bility, since  they  close  the  orders  in  individual  cases.  If 
he  can 't  teach  these  salesmen  to  close  orders  he  is  no  sales- 
manager,  no  matter  how  much  he  knows  about  the  mass- 
mind.  Conversely,  if  an  advertising  manager  doesn't 
know  how  to  get  results  from  the  mass-mind,  he  is  no  ad- 
vertising manager,  no  matter  how  much  he  knows  about 
salesmanagement.  In  other  words,  the  salesmanager 's 
really  biggest  job  is  to  understand  the  individual  mind,  of 
both  his  salesmen  and  his  prospects.  This  means  that  per- 
sonality is  a  very  important  part  of  his  equipment,  and  that 
the  study  of  personality  is  the  chief  technical  part  of  his 
job;  which  explains  why  the  average  salesmanager  con- 
stantly wants  to  discuss  man-study,  personality-analysis 


280  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

and  management ;  while  the  advertising  man  wants  to  dis- 
cuss "copy"  and  psychology  and  influencing  the  public. 

There  are  two  separate  kinds  of  genius  needed  in  sales 
development — one,  the  organized  plan  to  get  results  from 
other  men  by  personal  contact,  and,  two,  the  kind  of 
genius  that  concentrates  on  the  state  of  the  consumer's 
mind ;  that  works  on  the  entire  group  of  consumers  to  in- 
crease demand  and  good-will  by  means  of  the  new  tools  of 
printed  page,  psychology,  and  educational  effort. 

Eightly  considered,  both  are  technical  departments  of 
the  single  function  of  sales  development,  and  under  the 
most  successful  sales  organization  plans,  both  of  these  de- 
partments— ^management  of  salesmen,  and  management  of 
advertising — are  under  a  man  higher  up,  a  vice-president 
in  charge  of  sales,  a  director  of  sales,  a  marketing  man- 
ager, or  head  of  distribution  and  sales,  who  has  a  wide 
perspective  over  all  selling  efforts,  and  is  not  necessarily  a 
technician  in  any  one  branch  of  the  work. 

223.  Organization  Position  of  Sales  and  Advertising  De- 
partment.— It  is  important  to  clear  up  the  relative  author- 
ity and  responsibility  and  organization  line  of  connection 
between  advertising  and  sales  departments,  as  much  of 
the  friction  between  these  two  departments  arises  from 
lack  of  clarity  on  this  point.  There  has  been  considerable 
discussion  as  to  the  proper  relative  position  of  these  two 
departments.  Sound  principle  would  indicate  that  the  ad- 
vertising department  be  under  the  salesmanager,  provided 
that  the  salesmanager  is  a  broad  enough  man  of  the  cor- 
rect vision  and  experience  to  properly  function  in  two 
very  important  divisions  of  sale.  If  the  salesmanager  is 
really  of  sufficient  breadth  of  knowledge  and  competence 
to  pass  upon  matters  of  advertising  policy,  combination 
of  authority  (though  not  of  technical  operation)  is  the 
soundest  policy.  If,  however,  there  is  a  man  higher  up 
in  the  position  of  vice-president  or  other  official  title  who 


INTERLOCKING  SALES  AND  ADVERTISING    281 

is  the  man  of  broader  sales  vision  in  the  company  who 
gives  his  attention  and  his  broad  authority  in  the  field  of 
selling,  then  an  advertising  department  should  be  on  a  par 
and  equal  basis  with  the  sales  department.  Matters  of  any 
dispute  arising  between  the  two  departments  is  settled 
by  this  higher  executive.  It  is  wrong  in  principle  and  in 
practice  to  have  a  salesmanager  and  an  advertising  man- 
ager, both  of  whom  lack  vision  for  each  other 's  department, 
and  with  no  man  higher  up  competent  to  see  both  the  de- 
partments from  the  broader  angle  and  be  in  authority 
over  them  and  coordinate  their  work. 

An  advertising  department  under  the  authority  and  re- 
sponsibility of  the  salesmanager  is  sound  in  principle ;  but 
the  salesmanager  should  abide  by  the  judgment  of  the  ad- 
vertising manager  whose  word  should  be  regarded  as  final 
on  all  matters  of  technique.  Only  on  matters  of  policy  of 
a  broad  kind  should  authority  be  undertaken  by  the  sales- 
manager.  It  is  fatal  to  have  a  salesmanager  with  author- 
ity over  advertising  who  has  any  conscious  or  unconscious 
prejudice  against  advertising,  or  a  predilection  in  favor  of 
other  methods  of  selling  as  against  advertising. 

224.  Viseing  of  Advertising  Copy  by  the  Sales  Department. 
— This  is  one  of  the  most  frequent  causes  of  friction  be- 
tween sales  and  advertising  departments.  It  springs  from 
the  fact,  already  mentioned,  that  the  salesmanager  as  a 
rule  is  in  the  habit  of  dealing  with  individual  minds  and 
the  advertising  manager  with  the  mass  mind.  "When  it 
comes  to  judging  advertising  copy,  the  typical  salesman- 
ager is  unable  to  appreciate  the  considerations  which  must 
guide  the  good  advertising  writer;  he  cannot  understand 
the  compromises  and  qualifications  necessary  in  the  writing 
and  planning  of  advertisements,  in  order  that  the  largest 
possible  number  of  people  in  a  given  field  for  which  the 
advertising  is  written  shall  be  convinced.  He  is  unable  to 
see  that  statements  and  arguments  which  a  salesman  can 


282  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

"get  away  with"  cannot  possibly  be  used  in  copy  appeal- 
ing to  a  great  number;  and,  conversely,  that  statements 
prepared  for  a  great  number  of  people  must  necessarily 
differ  from  statements  which  are  made  to  an  individual. 

It  is  also  a  dangerous  matter  to  present  advertising  copy 
to  a  group  of  salesmen  for  opinions.  Some  wise  sales  or 
advertising  managers  put  such  copy  up  to  salesmen  for 
their  opinion,  merely  as  a  diplomatic  plan,  and  then  with 
an  attitude  of  respect  and  thanks  lay  aside  these  com- 
ments with  but  little  consideration,  unless  the  unusual  hap- 
pens and  a  really  valuable  and  applicable  idea  develops. 
The  main  value  of  getting  salesmen's  comments  on  adver- 
tising copy  is  not  in  the  detail  handling  of  such  copy,  but 
in  its  general  broad  mass  effect  upon  dealers  and  distribu- 
tors, and  not  upon  consumers.  The  diplomatic  handling 
and  merging  of  all  these  viewpoints  is  an  important  part 
of  sales  department 's  task,  and  an  error  on  the  part  of  an 
advertising  manager  is  frequently  to  ignore  the  dealer 
psychology,  and  other  aspects  from  the  sales'  organization 
point  of  view.  As  a  rule  it  is  a  wise  policy  to  secure  the 
best  judgments  and  opinions  and  suggestions  from  both 
salesmen  and  salesmanager  prior  to  the  preparation  of 
copy,  so  that  whatever  suggestions  they  may  have  will  be 
incorporated  in  the  finished  product. 

The  viseing  of  advertising  copy  by  a  higher  executive  is 
also  a  frequent  cause  of  friction  and  inefficiency.  This  is 
for  the  same  reason  outlined  above;  the  average  executive, 
untrained  in  advertising  technique,  views  the  copy  from 
an  individual  standpoint  and  not  from  the  angle  of  tech- 
nical preparation  to  meet  the  audience  it  must  convince. 
It  is  an  excellent  policy  for  executives  to  make  sug- 
gestions only  and  then  to  leave  those  suggestions  to  be 
handled  as  thought  best  by  the  final  arbiters  of  the  ad- 
vertising copy,  the  advertising  manager  and  the  advertising 
agency. 


INTERLOCKING  SALES  AND  ADVERTISING    283 

It  is  a  fairly  common  fault  among  advertising  men  to 
Qse  language  of  a  trifle  too  much  literary  imagination, 
•or  to  be  unaware  of  some  of  the  trade  strategic  points  of 
view  that  might  arise  in  connection  with  it.  This  tendency 
with  some  advertising  managers  must  be  guarded  against; 
but  as  a  rule  the  advertising  agency  and  advertising  man- 
ager, working  together,  eliminate  impracticability  and 
secure  a  dependable  result. 

225.  Increasing  the  Salesmen's  Knowledge  of  Advertising. 
— Instead  of  operating  at  cross  purposes  it  is  now  modern 
practice  for  the  salesman  as  well  as  the  salesmanager  to 
become  semi-advertising  men,  while  the  advertising  man 
becomes  practically  a  salesman  as  well. 

The  reason  for  this  readjustment  can  be  outlined  about 
as  follows: 

1.  Because  in  order  to  push  goods  with  both  retailer 
and  jobber,  it  is  necessary  to  both  give  indication  of  exist- 
ing demand,  and  to  assist  in  stimulating  demand  and 
meeting  it. 

2.  The  modern  conception  that  what  the  salesman  is 
selling  is  not  goods  to  put  into  a  store ;  but  demand  for 
goods ;  which  introduces  the  question  of  what  is  to  be  done 
to  help  move  the  goods  off  the  shelves. 

3.  The  greatly  increased  distances  to  markets  available 
and  the  greater  possibilities  of  nationalizing  demand,  which 
makes  it  necessary  to  use  the  printed  word  as  a  salesman, 
in  addition  to  personal  call. 

4.  The  possibilities  of  efficiency  and  economy  through 
the  intelligent  and  snappy  use  of  words  in  doing  cultiva- 
tion work  among  dealers,  follow-up  and  general  dealer 
stimulation  and  cooperation. 

These  main  divisions  of  facts  have  brought  about  the 
situation  whereby  it  is  almost  imperative  that  salesmen  be 
better  informed  about  advertising  and  handle  it  in  a  prac- 
tical manner. 


284  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

226.  Advertising  Cooperation  Through,  the  Sales  Manual. 
— Many  firms  as  yet  do  not  have  a  standard  sales  manual 
for  their  salesmen,  and  they  by  all  means  should  have  it. 

The  sales  manual  is  simply  a  standardized  form  of  out- 
lining the  arguments  for  the  proposition,  the  handling  of 
objections  and  the  special  ideas,  policies,  instructions  and 
manner  of  approach  advocated  by  the  concern. 

The  exact  manner  of  presenting  the  advertising  of  the 
house  to  the  client,  and  the  exact  manner  in  which  the 
salesman  is  to  make  use  of  the  advertising  of  the  house  is 
thus  formulated.  The  best  form  of  sales  manual  is  a  loose- 
leaf  book.  This  gives  the  sales  or  advertising  manager  a 
chance  to  keep  absolutely  up  to  date  the  instructions  re- 
garding any  advertising  the  house  is  doing,  and  the  manner 
of  its  presentation  to  the  trade,  or  any  emergency  matter 
which  by  stress  of  competition  or  other  factor  needs  to  be 
gotten  out  to  the  salesmen  and  presented  in  a  particular 
manner  to  the  trade. 

The  first  practical  thing  to  be  done  in  the  sales  manual 
is  to  outline  the  house  policy  with  respect  to  advertising 
and  its  relation  to  the  trade  which  the  salesman  sells,  and 
thus  give  the  salesman  what  is  very  greatly  needed,  a  real 
fundamental  understanding  of  what  and  vv'hy  the  house  is 
advertising.  Believing  ofttimes  that  they  themselves  are 
the  makers  and  creators  of  the  business,  they  are  likely  to 
transmit  this  impression  to  the  retail  trade ;  when  from  the 
point  of  view  of  the  house  for  which  they  work,  they  should 
boost  the  advertising  idea,  not  only  to  get  the  retailers  to 
do  more  advertising,  but  also  to  appreciate  what  advertis- 
ing the  manufacturer  may  be  doing.  The  house's  effort 
to  make  sales,  not  the  salesman's  personality,  need  to  be 
conspicuous  and  telling. 

There  are  plenty  of  evidences  that  in  order  to  get  the 
maximum  results  from  salesmen,  nothing  better  can  be 
done  than  to  make  enthusiasts  on  the  subject  of  advertis- 


INTERLOCKING  SALES  AND  ADVERTISING    285 

ing  out  of  each  single  one  of  them.  By  doing  this  through 
the  means  of  a  sales  manual,  instilling  with  great  emphasis 
the  importance  of  being  boosters  for  the  advertising  done 
by  the  house,  a  great  force  can  be  let  loose  which  will  un- 
questionably return  profit  through  the  increased  interest 
which  dealers  will  take  in  the  subject. 

In  the  sales  manual  the  salesmen  should  be  told  how 
from  the  point  of  view  of  the  retailer,  the  house  is  spending 
a  very  large  sum  of  money  and  doing  its  very  utmost  to 
move  the  goods  off  the  shelves  rather  than  merely  to  sell 
him  a  bill  of  goods. 

After  this  has  been  properly  emphasized  as  a  strong 
house  policy,  details  should  be  given  as  to  the  houses'  ad- 
vertising effort  and  plan.  Not  a  single  thing  should  be 
slighted.  Even  if  calendars  or  souvenir  buttons  or  what- 
not may  be  distributed  through  general  advertising  to 
consumer,  or  if  handsome  catalogs,  circulars,  etc.,  are  being 
so  distributed,  the  full  details,  the  numbers  and  the  ex- 
pensiveness  per  individual  should  be  told  the  dealer,  so 
that  this  detail  will  reinforce  in  his  own  mind  the  impres- 
sion of  assistance  on  a  large  and  generous  scale. 

In  addition  to  the  sales  manual  carried  by  the  salesmen, 
there  should  be  a  special  salesmen's  kit  or  scrap  book, 
containing  examples  not  only  of  all  the  periodical  advertis- 
ing, including  trade  paper  advertising  done  by  the  house, 
but  also  all  the  booklets,  catalogs,  and  special  pieces  of 
literature,  novelties,  etc.,  which  the  house  produces.  Thei 
dealer  desires  to  be  definitely  shown  exactly  what  effort  is 
being  made  to  help  unload  the  stock  it  is  desired  that  he 
should  buy. 

227.  Making  Salesmen  Sell  Advertising  Assistance  Rather 
Than  Merchandise. — Althouf^h  in  the  past  the  dealers  and 
traveling  salesmen  used  up  considerable  time  in  analyzing 
the  mechanical  details  of  an  article,  the  present  practice  is 
somewhat  different.     Wise  retailers  spend  comparatively 


286  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

little  time  on  the  work  of  buying,  and  mucli  more  upon  the 
task  of  moving  goods  off  the  shelves.  In  other  words,  they 
spend  their  best  energies  not  upon  getting  goods  into  the 
store,  but  in  getting  them  out. 

A  great  deal  of  emphasis  is  naturally  placed  upon  the 
kind  of  advertising  cooperation  which  the  manufacturer 
furnishes  the  retailer  when  the  goods  are  sold.  As  a  mat- 
ter of  fact,  there  are  many  manufacturers,  notably  in  the 
ready  made  clothing  and  men's  wear  field,  who  instruct 
salesmen  actually  to  talk  little  or  nothing  about  the  goods 
unless  requested  but  mostly  about  the  advertising  assist- 
ance they  will  give.  Even  an  agricultural  implement  house 
has  hired  salesmen,  not  for  their  knowledge  of  implements, 
but  for  their  knowledge  of  advertising;  realizing  that  the 
hardest  part  of  their  task  is  to  sell  the  selling  assistance 
in  the  form  of  advertising  which  the  firm  is  rendering  to 
its  dealers.  This  is  based  on  the  principle  that  no  dealer 
really  buys  merchandise,  per  se,  but  possibility  of  making 
sales  at  a  profit.  This  makes  the  manufacturer's  advertis- 
ing assistance  the  decisive  factor. 

The  salesmen  should,  in  many  cases  where  the  situation 
seems  to  call  for  it,  really  be  specialists  and  experts  in 
analyzing  the  retailer's  advertising  needs,  and  in  advising 
him  on  general  sales  development  for  his  store. 

228.  Salesmen  and  Dealer  Help  Advertising. — One  of  the 
greatest  evils  inherent  in  the  large  amount  of  dealer  help 
matter  which  advertisers  prepare  for  retailers,  has  been 
that  it  was  carelessly  and  lavislily  distributed,  without 
proper  safeguard  by  salesmen,  and  that  in  many  cases 
it  has  gone  into  the  waste  basket  or  forgotten  and  ruined 
in  damp  basements. 

All  of  this  waste  might  have  been  prevented  by  intelli- 
gent cooperation  and  handling  of  the  advertising  by  the 
salesman. 

This  sound  shift  of  viewpoint  by  the  retail  buyers  bas 


INTERLOCKING  SALES  AND  ADVERTISING    287 

made  necessary  some  changes  in  selling  front  (in  fact 
manufacturers  have  to  a  considerable  degree  helped  to  de- 
velop this  change).  It  compels  salesmen,  if  they  wish  to 
be  granted  some  of  a  dealer's  time,  to  talk  turnover  and 
methods  of  getting  goods  sold  rather  than  specific  merits  of 
the  goods.  That,  in  the  case  of  a  house  of  established  posi- 
tion, is  assumed  to  be  secondary  and  taken  for  granted. 

The  salesman  of  to-day  is  therefore  drilled  quite  as  care- 
fully, if  not  more  carefully,  in  the  advertising  and  retail 
merchandising  side  of  business  as  in  the  arguments  about 
the  goods. 

229.  Salesmen's  Cooperation  with  Advertising  Inquiries. — 
Many  times  the  consumer  advertising  is  done  not  nearly 
so  much  to  stimulate  the  consumer  as  to  stimulate  the  deal- 
ers. It  is  therefore  vital  to  check  up  whether  or  not  it  has 
succeeded  in  stimulating  the  dealers  and  whether  they  have 
noticed  it. 

In  addition  to  this  is  the  consideration  of  referring  in- 
quiries from  consumer  advertising  to  salesmen  as  a  bit  of 
ammunition  for  them  in  landing  a  dealer  or  stimulating 
a  dealer  already  on  the  books.  By  proper  cooperation  and 
assistance  from  the  advertising  department,  all  consumer 
inquiries  coming  through  the  home  office  can  immediately 
be  referred  to  the  salesman  in  that  district  and  utilized 
by  him  when  calling  on  the  dealer  as  an  additional  lever 
for  business. 

It  is  even  posssible,  when  individually  desirable,  to  have 
a  more  or  less  elaborate  system  by  which  the  dealers  are 
notified  by  carbon  copy  of  a  consumer  inquiry  and  ap- 
prised of  the  date  of  the  arrival  of  a  salesman ;  the  sales- 
man each  time  being  also  notified  of  the  consumer  inquiry 
and  directed  to  include  on  his  route  the  town  from  which 
the  consumer  inquiry  originated.  In  this  way  the  sales- 
man can  be  routed  as  emergency  seems  to  make  desir- 
able, as  the  result  of  the  consumer  inquiries,  if  it  is  a 


288  MODERN  SALESIVIANAGEMENT 

business  in  which  such  a  thing  is  possible  or  practical. 

The  salesman  can  also  be  used  to  stimulate  the  dealers 
personally  to  yield  up  their  mailing  list  for  the  mailing 
of  the  special  booklet  issued  by  the  house,  so  that  it  will 
reach  the  exact  people  most  desired.  Frequently  when 
dealers  will  not  send  a  list  of  their  best  prospects  and  cus- 
tomers, they  will  personally  give  to  a  salesman  a  number 
of  such  names.  In  a  limited  field  like  the  piano  business 
this  probably  would  be  particularly  adaptable. 

230.  Advertising's  Part  in  Sales  Conferences  and  Con- 
ventions.— In  many  cases  a  long-rooted  prejudice  against 
advertising  or  an  indifference  to  it  exists  among  the  sales- 
men, and  it  is  not  an  easy  job  to  turn  them  into  enthusi- 
asts. Only  at  sales  conferences  and  sales  conventions, 
where  personal  contact  is  possible,  is  there  any  real  hope 
of  instilling  the  maximum  amount  of  enthusiasm  for  ad- 
vertismg  in  salesmen. 

The  practical  methods  by  which  this  goal  is  reached,  or 
at  least  started,  included  among  others  something  like  the 
following : 

1.  Addresses  by  the  advertising  agent  or  advertising 
manager  of  the  house. 

2.  Addresses  by  specially  hired  professional  speakers 
who  understand  the  subject  and  are  guaranteed  to  stir 
enthusiasm  for  advertising. 

3.  Free  and  open  discussion  on  the  subject,  prepared 
for  in  advance  by  planting  one  or  two  men  who  will  be 
sure  to  make  a  hit  on  the  subject,  by  careful  preparation. 

4.  A  pictorial  presentation  of  the  advertising  of  the 
iiouse  and  a  scheme  to  enthuse  through  appeal  to  the  eye. 

It  is  sometimes  impossible  to  get  all  the  salesmen  to- 
gether at  a  central  point,  in  which  case  it  is  sometimes 
most  practical  to  organize  district  conferences  in  the  same 
way.  Some  concerns  travel  a  special  representative  who 
is  carefully  prepared  to  educate  and  enthuse  salesmen  on 


INTERLOCKING  SALES  AND  ADVERTISLNG    289 

the  subject  of  the  house's  advertising,  and  whose  talk  be- 
fore the  district  group,  or  even  simply  individual  sales- 
men in  twos,  threes,  or  more. 

231.  Advertising  to  Cut  Down  Introductory  Sales  Ex- 
penses.— One  of  the  strongest  arguments  to  use  upon  sales- 
men as  to  the  general  value  of  boosting  advertising,  es- 
pecially in  direct-to-consumer  technical  lines,  is  the  fact 
that  advertising  cuts  down  the  introductory  work  for  sales- 
men and  gives  them  the  easier  and  more  profitable  work 
of  ''closing"  sales  rather  than  doing  missionary  work 
upon  them.  The  dealer  or  consumer  who  has  been  properly 
canvassed  in  advance  by  the  house,  is  in  a  much  more  re- 
ceptive mood  and  is  ready  to  take  up  the  final  rather  than 
the  preliminary  facts  in  a  campaign  when  the  salesman 
calls. 

Another  fact  which  is  of  strong  value,  is  that  it  takes 
selling  out  of  the  field  of  chance  and  personal  pull  and 
puts  it  on  a  plane  of  demand  from  the  consumer,  and  thus 
gives  the  salesman  a  stronger  opportunity  for  holding  his 
trade  than  without  the  good  will  created  by  the  advertising. 
These  two  points  properly  hammered  in  will  not  fail  to  con- 
vince any  body  of  reasonable  salesmen. 

A  number  of  very  large  concerns  actually  use  the  sales- 
men themselves  to  put  out  various  local  forms  of  advertis- 
ing. For  instance,  the  decision  as  to  what  newspapers  to 
use  or  when  to  insert  local  advertising  on  some  cooperative 
part  payment  plan,  is  frequently  left  to  the  salesmen  if 
they  are  properly  informed  and  advised  of  the  house's 
policy. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

THE  STUDY  OF  AGGRESSIVE  RETAIL  MERCHANDISING 

232.  Why  Retail  Merchandising  Insight  Is  Essential  in 
Salesmanagement. — The  average  manufacturer  is  depend- 
ent upon  retail  distributors  and  he  can  succeed  only  in 
proportion  to  the  aggressiveness  of  retailers  in  his  field. 
Salesmanagers,  therefore,  must,  to  some  degree,  master  the 
principles  of  aggressive  retailing  so  that  policies  of  dealer 
assistance  may  be  geared  up  to  the  actual  retailing  situa- 
tion in  an  effective  manner. 

The  salesmanager  may  need  to  undertake  to  tune  up  the 
retailers  in  his  line  of  trade  and  endeavor  to  lift  their  col- 
lective standard  of  creative  sales  efficiency  to  higher  levels. 
Certainly  he  needs,  under  any  circumstances,  to  broaden 
his  knowledge  of  retailing,  if  only  to  be  a  better  judge  of 
the  effectiveness  of  his  own  organization's  efforts  to  create 
dealer  helps  and  advise  retailers.  It  must  not  be  forgot- 
ten that  the  coming  of  the  chain-store  has  brought  a 
greater  degree  of  aggressive,  intensive  retail  salesmanship 
into  operation  than  has  ever  been  known,  and  that  sales- 
managers  owe  it  to  retailers  competing  with  chain-stores  to 
help  work  out  solutions  to  their  sales  problems. 

A  knowledge  of  the  principles  of  aggressive  retailing — 
the  art  and  science  of  retail  sales  promotion  as  worked  out 
by  the  intensive  students  of  the  subject,  both  from  the  point 
of  view  of  the  manufacturer  and  the  retailer — is  of  the 
highest  value  to  any  salesmanager.  In  some  fields  the  de- 
gree of  his  grasp  of  aggressive  retail  merchandising  will 
determine  his  success  or  failure.     Many  sales  policies  are 

290 


AGGRESSIVE  RETAIL  MERCHANDISING     291 

doomed  to  failure  from  the  start  because  conceived  without 
due  insight  into  retail  merchandising.  Mediocre  success  in 
selling  a  line  dependent  upon  retail  effort  is  attributable 
to  mediocre  knowledge  of  principles  of  retail  merchandis- 
ing. 

Herewith  are  assembled  some  outstanding  principles, 
ideas  and  suggestions  which  do  not  cover  the  whole  sub- 
ject, of  course,  but  which  give  some  idea  of  the  scope  and 
spirit  of  it. 

233.  Selling  Sales,  KTot  Goods,  to  Dealers. — At  the  very- 
first  approach  to  a  retailer,  the  modern  aggressive  point  of 
view  is  important  to  assume.  The  point  of  view  is  all  im- 
portant. No  dealer  is  in  the  business  of  buying — he  is 
a  seller;  therefore  it  is  unsound  to  talk  to  him  purely  in 
buying  terms. 

The  thought  of  monej^  coming  into  a  man's  pocket  is 
very  pleasant,  but  the  effect  of  buying  goods  and  paying 
for  them  is  not  quite  as  pleasant.  The  spirit  of  construc- 
tive selling  to  retailers  is  to  say  to  him,  "You  work  out 
these  plans  I  am  suggesting,  and  you  will  find  that  you 
will  make  three  or  four  times  as  much  as  you  ever  made  be- 
fore." In  the  end,  of  course,  he  cannot  do  that  unless 
he  buys  the  goods,  but  if  you  have  your  plan  worked  out 
and  impress  on  him  how  much  additional  profit  he  is  going 
to  make  you  have  done  a  great  deal — not  only  to  sell  your 
goods  but  to  lay  the  foundation  for  repeat  business. 

The  average  retailer  in  a  small  town  would  think  500  a 
tremendous  quantity;  he  usually  thinks  fifty  or  one  hun- 
dred all  he  wants  to  buy.  His  vision  of  sales  should  be 
raised  by  saying,  ' '  Take  for  instance  the  number  of  people 
you  have  selling.  Assume  there  are  three,  and  each  per- 
son sells  three  articles  a  day.  That  would  mean  nine  a 
day,  which  would  mean  270  in  thirty  days.  Why,  five 
hundred  is  going  to  last  you  less  than  two  months.  That 
gives  you  the  advantage  of  big  window  displays,  big  coun- 


292  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

ter  displays."  Of  course  it  is  not  wise  to  overload  a 
dealer,  but  it  is  very  wise  to  build  up  his  selling  capacity. 
He  should  be  developed  toward  the  point  where,  when  he 
makes  up  his  mind  to  buy,  he  at  the  same  time  makes  up 
his  mind  just  what  ad  he  will  run;  just  what  course  he 
will  follow ;  he  must  really  sell  the  goods  in  his  mind 's  eye 
before  he  has  bought  them. 

The  science  of  turnover  doesn't  mean  that  a  dealer  can- 
not buy  big  quantities.  The  all-important  thing  is  to  have 
a  campaign  worked  out  when  buying,  and  jump  into  it  just 
as  soon  as  he  gets  the  goods — even  before,  in  order  to  turn 
the  goods  over. 

234.  Surveys  of  Retail  Possible  Business. — A  retailer  is 
merely  the  manufacturer  in  miniature,  so  far  as  the  main 
essential  of  business  goes — ^that  of  selling  the  goods.  There- 
fore it  is  profitable  to  use  the  same  principles  of  intensive 
cultivation  and  study;  of  applying  engineering  principle 
and  more  exact  method  of  analysis.  The  chain-stores  have 
demonstrated  this,  in  their  highly  scientific  study  of  pass- 
ers-by, location  values  and  the  relative  turnover  and  profit 
on  individual  items. 

A  retail  store  has  a  specific,  chartable  radius  of  appeal ; 
a  specific,  tabulatable  number  of  possible  customers  of 
various  grades,  and  a  specific  range  of  articles  possible 
to  sell;  and  a  specific  average  quantity  which  it  can  prob- 
ably sell  in  any  given  period.  Its  status  in  competition 
is  a  knowable  thing;  so  is  its  good-will  and  standing  with 
customers.  In  short,  the  facts  about  the  operation  of  a 
retail  business  may  almost  as  accurately  be  forecasted  in 
advance  of  the  actual  operation  as  after  the  step  is  irrev- 
ocably taken.  It  is  not  necessary  to  leave  much  to 
chance ;  and  a  good  survey  of  a  store 's  scope  and  possibili- 
ties is  one  of  the  best  investments  possible  to  make.  An 
interesting  plan  is  to  cooperate  with  live  manufacturers  in 
taking  a  survey  of  the  business.     This  applies  with  es- 


AGGRESSIVE  RETAIL  MERCHANDISING    293 

pecial  force  to  an  exclusive  agency  plan  of  selling.  A 
manufacturer  needs  just  as  much  as  a  retailer  to  know  sales 
possibilities. 

235.  Getting  Power  and  Punch  Out  of  Advertising. — 
There  is  a  great  deal  af  advertising  of  many  kinds  done 
to-day  by  both  manufacturer  and  dealer,  and  much  of  it  is 
of  very  high  grade.  Theoretically  it  should  perform  very 
efficiently.  Yet  the  bulk  of  it  operates  clumsily  and 
wastefully  for  one  chief  reason — lack  of  coordination  and 
organized  cooperation.  The  sales  promotion  manager,  Mr. 
Demoville,  of  the  United  Drug  Stores,  has  put  this  situa- 
tion in  retail  efficiency  very  graphically,  showing  how  ad- 
vertising alone  and  unsupported  is  small  in  value  but  prop- 
perly  supported  can  be  of  great  value,  as  follows: 

Advertising   alone 10% 

Advertising  and  window  display 20% 

Advertising,   window  display   and    counter 

display   25% 

Advertising,  window  display,  counter  service 

and  salesmanship 50% 

All  of  the  above,  plus  salesman's  bonus. . .  .100% 

The  aggressive  attitude  toward  the  selling  of  goods  must 
be  developed  so  that  the  above  facts  will  be  visualized,  and 
the  modern  attitude  taken  by  the  retailer  toward  the  goods 
in  his  store.  The  attitude  of  mind  must  be  changed  from 
that  of  an  order-filler  to  that  of  an  order  creator.  There 
must  be  a  realization  that  to  depend  on  the  drifting  in  of 
customers,  or  the  creation  of  demand  by  manufacturers 
only  is  wrong  in  principle;  that  the  same  aggressiveness 
displayed  by  the  manufacturer  in  advertising  must  be 
added  to  and  supplemented  by  the  retailers'  similarly  ag- 
gressive advertising. 

236.  Equipping  Sales  People  to  Push  Goods. — Mr.  Demo- 
ville of  the  United  Drug  Co.  further  says:     "It  is  really 


294  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

surprising  how  little  the  average  clerk  knows  about  the 
product  he  is  selling;  how  few  clerks  really  can  talk  in- 
telligently on  much  of  the  goods  they  sell.  To  meet  this 
situation,  in  our  intensive  backing  up,  the  United  Drug 
Co,  got  out  a  series  of  books  descriptive  of  the  products 
sold  in  different  departments  of  our  business.  We  offered 
a  series  of  prizes  for  the  best  list  of  questions  and  answers 
pertaining  to  the  articles  sold  in  the  toilet  goods  depart- 
ment.    We  got  out  another  book  on  rubber  goods. 

"We  interested  experts  all  over  the  country  to  get  these 
facts  from  different  people.  A  very  important  thing  to 
tie  up  with  any  work  of  this  kind  is  to  say,  as  we  suggest 
to  our  managers,  'take  these  books,  give  them  out  to  your 
sales  people,  and  tell  them  that  you  are  going  to  have  a 
little  get-together  meeting.  At  this  meeting  there  are  go- 
ing to  be  ten  questions  asked.  Every  one  of  these  questions 
are  answered  in  this  book.  The  person  who  passes  the  best 
examination  is  going  to  get  ten  dollars.'  The  first  book 
we  got  out  on  rubber  goods  proved  conclusively  the  value  of 
this  method." 

237.  Profit-Sharing  for  Salespeople. — Intensive  merchan- 
dising demands  that  you  have  to  hold  out  some  incentive  to 
salespeople.  Some  form  of  profit  sharing  is  necessary  to 
get  them  to  do  aggressive  work.  Department  stores  fre- 
quently use  a  percentage  bonus  plan;  even  a  conservative 
London  store  like  Harrod's  adopts  this  plan. 

The  United  Drug  Co.,  in  operating  a  very  intensive  cam- 
paign for  one  preparation,  allows  five  cents  on  a  dollar 
price  to  be  given  to  the  clerk  in  the  store.  It  believes 
that  in  order  to  get  advertising  backed  up,  it  is  necessary 
to  give  that  five  cents  on  each  package.  In  some  way  the 
man  behind  the  counter  has  got  to  be  interested  in  back- 
ing up  goods.  It  cites  an  instance  in  Texas  where  a  cer- 
tain retailer  sold  five  thousand  cans  of  a  certain  article, 
stimulated  by  this  plan. 


AGGRESSIVE  RETAIL  MERCHANDISING    295 

The  great  trouble  as  far  as  sales  help  is  concerned  is 
that  the  average  proprietor  is  not  willing  to  do  this  educa- 
tional work  and  profit-sharing  and  until  recently  it  was 
almost  impossible  to  get  him  to  pay  help  in  proportion  to 
sales.  Self-interest  is  an  element  of  human  nature  that 
must  be  recognized.  A  sales-person  is  willing  to  do  addi- 
tional work,  study  and  put  in  additional  time  in  proportion 
to  what  he  thinks  it  is  going  to  benefit  him,  or  her. 

A  case  is  mentioned  of  a  $15.00  a  week  saleswoman  with 
an  average  sales  record  of  two  and  a  half  times  the  amount 
usually  sold.  She  had  a  knowledge  of  human  nature  and 
a  knowledge  of  the  goods.  This  woman  would  be  a  very 
much  cheaper  person  behind  the  counter  at  $40  or  $45 
a  week  than  the  average  person  at  fifteen  dollars  a  week. 
A  retailer  should  say  to  a  clerk,  "This  position  has  got 
to  be  worth  so  much  money  to  you.  If  you  cannot  make 
that,  it  will  simply  show  you  are  not  suited  for  the  posi- 
tion and  I  will  not  want  you  at  all." 

237.  Getting  Salespeople  to  Think. — The  salespeople  all 
over  the  country  in  many  instances  do  not  properly  repre- 
sent the  store.  There  is  only  a  limited  number  of  mer- 
chants who  appreciate  what  this  means. 

It  is  very  important  to  do  everything  possible  to  get  the 
clerks  to  think.  The  United  Drug  Co.  offers  a  series  of 
prizes  every  three  months ;  sometimes  shares  of  stock  in  the 
company,  or  trips  to  different  points  in  the  United  States. 
These  contests  have  done  a  great  deal  of  good.  Prizes  for 
any  selling  ideas,  anything  that  increases  the  efficiency  of 
the  Rexall  Drug  Stores,  are  given. 

Oftentimes  the  proprietor  or  the  best  posted  man  in  the 
store  is  in  the  back  part  of  the  store  during  busy  hours  at- 
tending to  matters  somebody  else  could  easily  attend  to, 
while  a  fifteen-dollar-a-week  clerk  is  up  at  the  front  attend- 
ing to  the  customers. 

This  is  a  serious  inefficiency.     Constant  original  thinking 


296  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

needs  to  be  done.  If  a  customer  asks  for  one  thing',  the 
psychological  time  is  right  at  that  moment  to  place  before 
him  something  else  along  that  particular  line  associated 
with  the  article  asked  for.  If  a  person  asks  for  a  tooth 
brush,  there  should  be  shown,  in  the  tray  containing  it, 
everj-thing  that  is  sold  for  the  teeth.  The  instructions  to 
the  clerk  would  be  that  if  one  of  these  articles  is  called 
for  he  must  take  out  that  tray,  and  must  study  the  cus- 
tomer 's  needs  in  a  thoughtful  manner. 

238.  Fig^htingf  Invisible  Competition. — The  unthinking 
retailer  will  ususally  be  found  pessimistic  about  ordering 
goods,  and  full  of  rule-o '-thumb  explanations  why.  Few 
of  these  explanations  are  correct,  except  possibly  the  mail 
order  explanation,  which  as  a  rule  is  even  more  serious 
than  he  knows. 

The  competition  of  the  nearby  larger  center  is  often  a 
serious  factor,  which  cannot  be  overcome  except  by  the 
lever  of  the  smaller  costs  which  a  small  town  dealer  should 
have  as  his  natural  ally,  because  of  lower  rents,  etc.  The 
greater  degree  of  local  service  possible  is  another  ally 
which  the  small  dealer  has.  Yet  both  these  natural  allies 
are  far  too  often  left  unused,  with  the  natural  result  that 
the  scales  tip  toward  the  invisible  competitor. 

The  most  ruinous  ''invisible"  competitor  of  many  a  re- 
tailer is  really  not  invisible  at  all — except  to  himself — 
because  it  is  himself.  He  ruins  his  own  opportunities  by 
charging  excessive  profits,  by  laxity,  by  carelessness,  by  an- 
tagonistic practices  and  by  general  absence  of  ag^essive, 
analytical  merchandising. 

To  this  type  of  dealer,  the  live  salesmanager,  with  a  re- 
tail merchandising  vision,  can  be  an  awakener  and  a  de- 
veloper. It  is  a  slow  process,  but  even  at  a  slow  pace  the 
work  of  developing  retail  efficiency  is  highly  worth  while, 
because  of  the  great  number  of  retailers.  A  salesmanager 
without  a  policy  to  meet  his  retail  limitations  is  damming 


AGGRESSIVE  RETAIL  MERCHANDISING    297 

up  his  own  forward  advance.  The  retailer's  invisible  com- 
petition is  like  a  prison  around  him,  from  which  only  the 
manufacturer's  constructive  effort  may  unlock  him,  be- 
cause the  manufacturer  has  the  national  vision,  the  large 
profit  incentive  to  investigation  and  study  which  the  re- 
tailer has  not. 

239.  Decrease  Cost  of  Doing  Retail  Business. — It  is 
the  opinion  of  retail  experts  that  most  retailers  could  do 
from  20  to  30%  more  business  with  the  same  amount  of 
help  and  general  overhead,  if  their  merchandising  was  on 
a  more  enlightened  and  aggressive  plane.  It  will  be  seen, 
therefore,  how  important  the  study  of  aggressive  merchan- 
dising is,  since  it  means  the  difference  to  many  retailers 
between  profit  and  loss,  between  working  at  a  mere  living 
wage  or  making  a  desirable  income;  or  even  between  suc- 
cess and  bankruptcy. 

The  cost  of  doing  business  in  various  retail  lines  varies 
of  course  considerably;  but  the  average  cost  in  all  lines 
is  considerably  beyond  the  efficient  point,  or  the  cost  fig- 
ure which  the  livest  and  best  stores  achieve.  In  fact,  they 
are  as  a  rule  25%  higher  than  they  should  be.  A  well 
organized  drug  store,  for  instance,  can  be  operated  at  an 
average  cost  of  selling  of  11%,  whereas  the  actual  average 
sales  expense  runs  up  to  16  and  20% — chiefly  for  lack  of 
aggressive  selling  policies. 

The  general  cost  of  doing  business  in  various  retail  lines 
is  interesting  to  note: 

Department  Store 26.4% 

Small  Dry  Goods  Store 16.3% 

Shoe  Store 23.3% 

Credit  Grocery 19.2% 

Cash  Grocery 14.5% 

Hardware    Store 19.4% 

Clothing  Store 20.3% 


298  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

Drug  Store 24.6% 

Furniture    Store 23.4% 

Jewelry    Store 25.3% 

Lack  of  understanding  of  turnover — simply  another 
name  for  aggressive,  swift-moving  merchandising — is  re- 
sponsible for  the  most  prominent  fault  in  retail  costs — 
depreciation.  It  ranges  from  1.5%  to  5%.  This  item 
of  depreciation  has  tempted  many  retailers  into  bad  mer- 
chandising tactics  of  one  sort  or  another,  and  has  upset 
their  first  calculations  of  profit.  The  item  of  rental  is  an- 
other large  source  of  loss.  Retail  rental,  properly  under- 
stood, is  a  science  based  mathematically  upon  number  of 
passers  by  per  average  business  day.  Rents  not  based  on 
this  measure  are  usually  an  unproductive  drain  on  cost  of 
doing  business. 

Costs  of  doing  business  cannot  be  expected  to  decrease 
except  by  application  of  aggressive  merchandising,  as  all 
cost  tendencies  are  upward ;  as  illustrated  by  the  fact  that 
from  1883  until  1912  retail  selling  costs  doubled. 

240.  The  Turnover. — No  retailing  subject  is  so  little  un- 
derstood by  the  average  retailer  or  so  stubbornly  ignored 
as  a  principle.  The  average  retailer  fixes  his  eyes  upon 
his  cost  of  doing  business  and  endeavors  to  operate  his  buy- 
ing solely  on  that  basis.  He  wants  to  judge  the  discounts 
offered  him  only  by  the  measure  of  his  cost  of  doing  busi- 
ness, forgetting  that  he  could  make  a  great  deal  of  money 
out  of  an  article  which  offered  him  only  1%  discount  if  he 
could  turnover  such  goods  with  sufficient  volume  and 
rapidity.  At  the  same  time  he  might  purchase  goods  of- 
fering 100%  discount  and  if  they  stayed  on  his  shelf  for  a 
year  or  two  (as  such  goods  frequently  do)  he  would  still 
fail  to  make  a  profit. 

The  manufacturer,  therefore,  who  has,  by  advertising 
and  development  work,  built  up  a  turnover  value  for  his 


AGGRESSIVE  RETAIL  MERCHANDISING    299 

goods  which  permits  a  dealer  to  make  the  profit  attached  to 
it,  not  once  a  year,  but  three,  four  or  five  times  a  year  or 
more,  is  in  reality  offering  a  discount  just  that  many 
times  more  than  the  discount  of  the  other  article,  which 
turns  but  once.  The  grocers  have  for  years  argued  against 
the  discount  offered,  for  instance,  on  Uneeda  biscuit, 
whereas  the  very  unusual  turnover  of  52  times  is  possible 
on  this  article.  Retail  turnover  value  costs  the  manufac- 
turer much  money  to  develop,  and  he  quite  logically  asks 
the  dealer  to  adjust  the  rate  of  discount  to  the  speed  of 
turnover,  which  he  has  paid  to  build.  The  dealer  is  never- 
theless still  the  financial  gainer  unless  he  can't  even  be 
ordinarily  efficient  in  handling  his  stock. 

The  prejudice  still  existing  among  many  retailers  against 
advertised  goods  because  of  moderate  or  low  margins  has 
retarded  many  retailers  from  succeeding  to  a  greater  de- 
gree, and  has  actually  driven  many  good  articles  into  the 
chain  stores  and  into  the  5  and  10  cent  stores,  which  ap- 
preciate to  ti  e  full  the  significance  of  small  margins  many 
times  multiplied  on  goods  which  have  been  made  known 
by  the  manufacturer  and  require  no  effort  to  sell. 

Turnover  is  now  made  the  religion  and  disciplinarian  of 
successful  retailers  large  and  small.  It  is  analyzed  in  de- 
tail so  that  no  unprofitable  merchandise  of  any  kind  or 
description  is  permitted  to  remain  beyond  the  dead-line  of 
turn-over  time.  There  is  a  mathematical  ratio  of  falling 
value  of  merchandise  on  a  dealer's  shelves  in  relation  to 
the  march  of  time,  and  the  live  retailer  never  sits  idly  by 
while  that  ratio  creeps  upward  into  his  profits.  A  manu- 
facturer's policy  in  selling  to  retailers  requires  to  be  ac- 
quainted with  retail  turnover  so  as  to  avoid  trade  friction. 

241.  Departmented  and  Itemized  Costs. — Perfect  control 
over  a  retail  business  is  impossible  without  departmented 
costs,  and  these  departmented  costs  can  be  made  the  means 
to  steer  the  business  in  a  very  deft  way  toward  greater 


300  MODERN  SALESIMANAGEMENT 

profit.  Some  of  the  biggest  mereliants  in  the  country  have 
no  idea  of  the  cost  of  domg  business  in  different  depart- 
ments. In  arriving  at  these  figures  it  is  necessary  to 
divide  the  total  expense  of  rent,  light  and  heat  by  the 
amount  of  feet  and  get  the  amount  covered  per  foot ;  then 
apportion  the  amount  to  be  charged  to  the  front  part  of 
the  store,  the  central  part  of  the  store  and  the  back  of  the 
store.  Then  take  the  amount  of  capital  invested  in  fix- 
tures, etc.,  and  deduct  ten  per  cent  for  depreciation,  ten 
per  cent  for  interest,  taxes  and  insurance.  Department 
costs  require  also  consideration  of  capital  invested — they 
should  be  about  three  per  cent  higher  than  when  they  do 
not  consider  capital  invested. 

The  prescription  business,  considered  by  some  to  be  the 
most  profitable  part  of  the  drug  business,  is  not  profitable ; 
a  fact  not  uncovered  except  by  departmented  costs.  Goods 
heavily  advertised  can  be  sold  for  very  much  less  cost  than 
anything  else  in  a  store.  Proprietary  articles  can  be  sold 
for  a  cost  of  fifteen  per  cent. 

A  dealer  without  departmented  costs  will  take  up  things 
that  don't  pay  him,  spend  time  on  them  to  the  neglect 
of  his  more  profitable  lines.  He  will  also  delude  himself 
into  believing  certain  departments  are  profit  makers  to 
a  much  greater  degree  than  they  are.  A  druggist  who  es- 
timated his  soda  fountain  costs  to  be  27%  was  shown  by 
a  cost  expert  that  it  was  35%  ;  that  his  cigar  department 
which  he  thought  was  costing  22%  (and  was  therefore 
neglecting)   was  costing  only  11%. 

Retail  cost  keeping  may  be  developed  to  many  surprising 
fine  points,  such  as  the  fact  that  retail  costs  vary  even  on 
individual  items  in  the  same  class.  A  dozen  knives  or 
spoons  cannot  have  the  same  costs,  even  though  they  were 
paid  for  at  the  same  price  each  and  occupy  identically  the 
same  amount  of  store  space  each.  The  finely  split  cost 
analysis  will  show  that  whereas  the  first  knife  cost  possibly 


AGGRESSIVE  RETAIL  MERCHANDISING    301 

11%,  the  last  one  sold  cost  40%  or  more.  The  possibili- 
ties of  itemized  costs  are  readily  seen  when  endeavoring 
to  keep  vividly  clear  the  factor  of  cost,  and  operate  a  store 
on  cold  facts  of  profit  making. 

The  salesmanager 's  interest  in  departmented  and  item- 
ized costs  is  obviously  keen,  as  it  gives  him  the  opportun- 
ity to  make  comparisons  and  contrasts  in  his  analysis  to 
retailers  of  the  place  in  the  dealer's  profit-making  of  his 
article  or  brand. 

242.  Increasing  the  Average  of  Sale. — Aggressive  retail 
merchandising  demands  the  expansion  of  the  average 
amount  of  sale  made.  The  mere  automaton  dealer,  the 
"cash  register"  type  of  retailer,  merely  sells  the  customer 
what  the  customer  practically  insists  on  buying.  The 
amount  in  money  that  the  average  customer  spends  on  his 
visit  to  the  store  is  merely  the  minimum  of  sales  possi- 
bility; merely  the  starting  point  for  good  aggressive  re- 
tailing. It  is  now  well  recognized  that  the  principle  de- 
veloped by  department  stores  years  ago,  of  making  no 
effort  to  sell  and  of  letting  customers  wander  about  and 
"sell  themselves,"  and  of  employing  only  the  cheapest 
help,  very  slightly  trained,  is  a  merchandising  mistake. 

It  is  now  being  superseded  by  a  higher  grade  of  retail 
salesmanship,  more  on  a  par  with  European  standards, 
where  the  efforts  of  salespeople  to  sell  more  than  the  first 
automatic  sale  is  not  resented  by  customers  because  it  is 
done  in  a  trained  and  intelligent  manner.  It  is  only  the 
crude  effort  to  sell  which  offends;  and  the  supposed  prefer- 
ence of  American  shoppers  for  never  being  asked  to  buy 
when  in  a  store  is  only  based  on  the  fact  that  in  practice 
such  selling  effort  was  usually  crude  and  valueless  to  the 
customer.  Good  suggestions,  well-informed,  courteous 
salesmanship  is  never  out  of  place  in  a  store  under  any 
circumstances.  Furthermore,  the  once  common  American 
custom  of  leisurely  shopping,  which  gave  time  for  custom- 


302  MODERN  SALESIVIANAGEMENT 

ers  to  review  tlieir  needs  in  their  own  time  and  manner, 
has  disappeared.  Women  as  well  as  men  are  as  a  rule  too 
busy  to  spend  a  great  deal  of  time  ''shopping  around"; 
stores  report  a  distinct  decline  in  this  old  habit. 

The  modern  idea  is  therefore  the  careful  training  of 
salesmen  to  increase  the  average  of  sale.  If  the  average 
of  sale  is  33  cents,  it  needs  but  an  increase  to  iO  cents  to 
double  the  profit.  An  intelligent  effort  along  this  line  is 
known  to  produce  an  increase  of  10  to  15%  in  average  daily- 
sales.  In  this  way  the  net  profits  of  a  store  may  be 
doubled  with  the  same  amount  of  help,  for  the  increase 
represents  a  greater  ratio  of  profit  by  far  than  the  lower 
amount.  The  effects  of  this  are  seen  in  the  annual  sales 
volume  of  exceptional  retailers  in  small  towns  who,  judged 
by  the  average  achievement  of  other  retailers  in  their  class, 
would  be  doing  fairly  well  to  sell  $40,000  annually,  but 
who  do  more  than  double  this  amount. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

^   WORKING  WITH  THE  JOBBER 

243.  Necessity  of  Carefully  Laid  Jobber  Policy. — At  the 
very  outset  of  establishing  jobber  relationship,  looking  to- 
ward stimulation  of  demand,  it  is  very  necessary  to  lay 
down  rigidly  fair  and  thorough-going  policies.  The  main 
principles  of  such  policies  must  be  uniform  and  unbending 
equality  of  treatment  and  a  square  deal.  The  spirit  of 
such  cooperation  must  also  be  that  of  affording  the  jobber 
every  advantage,  even  to  the  point  of  temporary  loss  and 
inconvenience.  It  sometimes  pays  the  manufacturer  to 
deviate  from  rule  (though  not  from  principle)  and  be  in- 
consistent, but  never  to  try  to  "cut  corners"  in  jobber 
policy. 

xThe  chief  factor  around  which  such  careful  policy  must 

be  built  is  of  course  price, Price  is  the  foundation  upon 

which  the  jobber  does  business,  as  he  exists  solely  because 
of  a  price  margin  given  him  in  the  transaction  for  a  mid- 
dleman's service.  Therefore  a  jobber  is  treated  unfairly 
and  dishonestly  by  a  manufacturer  when  the  dealer  in  the 
jobber's  territory  is  granted  jobbing  prices,  or  even  when 
orders  are  taken  direct  at  dealer  prices,  or  when  special 
inducements  are  held  out,  or  lures  or  incentives,  however 
subtle  or  hidden,  given  for  dealing  direct.  It  is  sometimes 
sound  policy  for  manufacturers  in  a  situation  where  they 
are  not  wholely  and  logically  dependent  upon  jobbers — 
to  straddle  both  methods  of  selling,  direct  to  retailers  and 
through  jobbers.  But  it  is  necessary  to  most  carefully 
analyze  the  basic  situation  at  the  start  before  any  sueli 

303 


304 


MODERN  SALESINIANAGEMENT 


policy  is  adopted,  in  order  that  the  very  life  of  the  busi- 
ness may  not  be  threatened.  It  would  be  ruinous  to  make 
a  fundamental  error  in  this  regard.  The  wide-spread 
enmity  of  jobbers  toward  an  article  which  can  only  be 
distributed  logically  through  jobbers  is,  of  course,  prac- 
tically fatal.  For  articles  which  have  a  sufficient  sale  in 
the  territories  which  can  be  reached  direct,  and  which  by 
reason  of  weight  and  other  considerations  can  be  supplied 


•Largest  Jobbing  Points 

olfext  " 

.Snail 


NATIONAL  JOBBING  CENTERS  AND  SUBSIDIARY  DISTRIBUTING  POINTS 


direct,  the  jobber  may  be  dispensed  with.  On  the  other 
hand,  when  jobbers  are  not  getting  the  best  out  of  a  terri- 
tory, well-considered  policies  must  be  laid  to  stand  behind 
the  jobbers  and  push,  if  the  article  is  a  logical  jobbing 
article;  or  perhaps  if  it  is  not,  an  entirely  new  policy  of 
distribution  may  need  to  be  developed. 

Once  having  decided  to  get  behind  the  jobbers  with  as- 
sistance and  stimulation,  a  manufacturer  can  aiford  to 
"lean  backward"  in  the  earnest  effort  to  cultivate  by  un- 
questionable proof  of  fair  dealing,  a  solid  feeling  of  mu- 
tuality of  interest  between  jobber  and  manufacturer.    The 


WORKING  WITH  THE  JOBBER  305 

technique  for  doing  this  is  varied  and  can  be  developed 
successfully  in  any  line  of  business. 

244.  The  Missionary  Plan  of  Assisting  Jobbers. — In  all 
the  great  widely  distributed  lines  of  merchandise,  such  as 
hardware,  groceries,  dry-goods  and  drugs,  it  is  a  hopeless 
task  to  endeavor  to  cover  the  country  with  salesmen;  the 
various  national,  partly  national  and  local  jobbers  cover 
the  territory  regularly. 

But  these  jobbers  cannot,  from  the  very  nature  and 
breadth  of  their  task,  give  much  attention  to  any  single 
brand.  In  some  lines  they  must  handle  80,000  or  more 
items.     They  must  be  assisted,  if  sales  are  to  be  pushed. 

The  most  commonly  practised  method  of  assisting  job- 
bers is  that  of  traveling  missionary  salesmen  who,  al- 
though they  do  not  take  orders  themselves  but  turn  them 
over  to  the  jobber's  salesmen  or  the  jobber,  nevertheless  ef- 
fect a  direct  contact  with  the  retail  trade  traveled  by  the 
jobber.  Some  manufacturers  can  afford  salesmen  enough  to 
travel  their  men  with  almost  every  jobber's  salesman  who 
travels  the  field  throughout  the  country.  Others  travel 
missionaries  only  at  intervals  to  the  entire  trade ;  and  still 
others  do  not  attempt  to  cover  the  entire  country,  but  call 
on  only  the  important  dealers,  and  permit  the  jobbers  to 
reach  the  more  inaccessible  districts  alone. 

This  missionary  plan  is  successful  only  when  a  rigid 
policy  is  maintained  of  transferring  all  orders  carefully 
to  jobbers,  and  specifically  boosting  the  jobbing  salesman's 
sales  and  aims.  The  missionary  must  develop  no  good- 
will with  the  dealer  which  is  not  equally  goodwill  for  the 
jobber.  Such  missionaries  are  not  salesmen,  in  the  right 
sense,  but  advisors  to  the  merchants  as  to  how  to  increase 
demand.  The  assumption  is  that  the  dealer  is  already  a 
customer,  and  that  what  he  needs  is  expert  assistance 
direct  from  the  manufacturer,  to  increase  his  volume  of 


306  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

demand.  Actually,  however,  he  is  a  salesman,  out  to  get 
orders  wherever  orders  are  slow  or  stubborn  in  coming. 

Of  course,  such  missionaries  also  aim  after  new  dealer 
accounts,  and  naturally  special  effort  along  this  line  is 
especially  welcome  to  the  jobber.  The  conflicting  interests 
of  local  and  national  jobber  are  also  a  problem  in  some 
lines  of  trade,  and  careful  instructions  on  policy  must  be 
given  the  missionary  men  so  that  the  situations  that  arise 
may  be  dealt  with  diplomatically  and  justly.  It  is  also 
necessary  to  see  to  it  that  the  jobber  salesman  does  not 
lean  too  heavily  upon  the  missionaiy  men,  and  does  the 
share  that  may  logically  be  expected  of  him  in  sales  de- 
velopment. The  missionary  field  reports  should  be  studied 
and  tabulated  with  care  in  order  to  secure  a  good  picture 
not  only  of  local  reasons  for  backward  business,  but  also 
national  and  fundamental  ones,  whether  regarding  the 
article  itself,  business  conditions,  house  policy  or  distribu- 
tor's lack  of  ability  and  energy. 

A  missionary  is  an  ambassador,  so  to  speak,  and  should 
be  selected  for  tact,  versatility  and  clear-sightedness  in 
addition  to  selling  ability. 

245.  The  Size  of  the  Jobber's  "Spread"  as  an  Induceinent. 
— The  normal  jobber's  spread  on  all  specialties  or  semi- 
specialties  is  20%.  This  means  that  the  total  percentage 
to  the  jobber,  inclusive  of  his  own  and  the  dealer's  margin, 
is  about  50%.  In  many  cases  it  is  but  40%.  As  the  aver- 
age cost  of  doing  business  among  wholesalers  is  about 
12%,  it  will  be  seen  that  an  article  must  have  an  extremely 
rapid  and  automatic  turnover  before  it  can  profit  a  jobber 
to  handle  it  at  less  than  20%.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
jobber,  like  the  retailer,  handles  a  great  deal  of  merchandise 
of  the  more  staple  and  rapidly  turning  kind  for  almost 
no  profit,  and  even  in  some  cases  at  a  loss.  He  is  there- 
fore forced  to  secure  some  degree  of  recuperation  of  his 
loss  from  the  specialties  and  semi-specialties.     A  manufac- 


WORKING  WITH  THE  JOBBER  307 

turer  of  a  new  or  fairly  new  article,  the  demand  for  which 
is  thin  and  uncertain,  must  expect  to  give  the  jobber  a 
good  margin,  as  near  50%  as  the  circumstances  will  possi- 
bly allow.  For  an  article  whose  demand  is  yet  to  be 
created,  and  for  the  development  of  which  the  jobber  is  to 
be  relied  upon  almost  exclusively,  a  still  higher  margin  is 
entirely  equitable.  In  cases  of  articles  upon  which  large 
margins  are  possible,  jobbers  have  been  known  to  be  given 
a  100%  gross  margin  during  the  formative  years. 

Later,  when  demand  is  established  by  the  help  of 
the  manufacturer  as  well  as  of  the  jobber,  but  chiefly  by 
consumer  demand  created  by  good  advertising,  this  close 
margin  may  logically  be  reduced.  Friction  ofttimes  is  de- 
veloped when  the  manufacturer  who  has  given  such  an 
extra  margin  of  profit  to  a  jobber  for  development  work, 
reaches  the  point  when  he  believes  he  should  reduce  it. 
Jobbers  often  then  make  the  plea  that  they  have  given 
years  to  the  development  of  the  article  and  should  be  en- 
titled to  a  maintenance!  of  the  original  large  margin. 
This,  however,  is  an  unsound  argument,  as  the  logical 
answer  is  that  the  jobber  has  been  paid  for  his  work  as 
he  went  along  by  the  larger  margin,  and  now  when  he  is 
called  upon  to  do  less  development  work,  when  the  sale  is 
more  automatic,  and  selling  it  much  less  expensive,  his  pay 
should  logically  be  less. 

Nowadays,  however,  there  are  comparatively  few  cases 
where  the  development  work  is  entirely  laid  upon  the 
shoulders  of  the  jobber.  After  all,  the  jobber  is  not  a 
sales  developer,  but  a  distributor,  and  the  task  and  re- 
sponsibility for  creating  demand  is  logically  upon  the 
manufacturer.  It  is  unsound  to  ask  or  look  for  a  greater 
degree  of  development  from  a  jobber  than  he  would  give 
any  other  article  which  has  an  equal  demand. 

246.  Interesting  a  Jobber  in  a  New  Article. — This  is 
found  by  many  manufacturers  to  be  a  discouraging  task. 


308  ]\IODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

They  scarcely  realize  that  the  jobber  is  entirely  correct 
in  his  idea  of  keeping  to  his  function  as  a  distributor,  and 
not  as  a  sales  agent.  His  answer,  often  irritating  to  the 
manufacturer,  is  "create  a  demand  and  I  will  supply  it." 
^The  manufacturer  finds  it  difficult  to  see  how  he  can 
logically  stir  up  a  demand  before  he  has  the  machinery  in 
operation  to  supply  it.  The  technique  of  doing  both  of 
these  things  simultaneously  is  one  about  which  competent 
sales  and  advertising  counsel  must  inform  him,  and  de- 
velop a  method  fitted  to  his  own  specific  needs.  His  prob- 
lem is  more  or  less  like  the  job  of  starting  a  train  of  cars 
from  absolute  standstill.  In  some  instances  it  is  wise  to 
plan  a  start  on  a  territorial  basis,  and  in  others  it  is  wise 
to  operate  on  a  national  scale,  selling  the  high  spots 
direct,  and  following  later  through  the  jobbers.  Each  in- 
dividual case  has  distinct  and  vital  differences,  and  several 
methods  may  fit  one  concern  if  accompanied  by  strategy 
fitting  th6\case.  The  same  principle  holds  in  all  cases, 
however,  that'' jobbers  must  not  be  expected  to  stock  the 
goods  unless  there  is  a  demand,  if  not  an  existing  one, 
then  at  least  one  in  sight,  if  not  for  that  brand,  then  at 
least  for  that  type  of  article. 

The  correct  mode  of  procedure  is  to  make  an  extremely 
business-like  prepared  call  upon  jobbers  with  all  the  facts 
that  are  essential  to  his  consideration  and  decision ;  giving 
clearly  thought  out  and  correct  analysis,  in  merchandising 
terms,  of  the  logical  place  which  a  new  article  may  have, 
by  reason  of  quality,  price,  quantity,  novelty,  timeliness 
or  need.  If  it  can  be  shown  that  a  basis  of  a  demand  ex- 
ists, the  jobber  is  justified  in  taking  it,  and  that  justifica- 
tion is  the  salesmanager's  platform  of  operation  on  other 
jobbers  the  country  over. 

247.  Special  Methods  of  Influencing'  Jobber  Salesmen. — 
Because  of  the  increasing  conditions  and  cost,  jobbers  in 
most  lines  are  awakening  to  more  modern  methods,  and 


WORKING  WITH  THE  JOBBER  309 

have  a  broader  view  of  manufacturer's  cooperation  than 
was  prevalent  in  the  past.  A  live  manufacturer  should 
have  no  difficulty  with  any  jobber  in  securing  permission 
to  make  sales  talks  to  their  assembled  salesmen,  and  also 
to  give  demonstration  and  educational  drills  in  selling  the 
goods.  Jobber  salesmen  are  human  beings,  subject  to  a 
certain  degree  of  enthusiasm  and  development,  to  which 
the  jobber  does  not  object,  in  fact  desires.  The  live  manu- 
facturer takes  advantage  of  this  and  endeavors  if  possible 
to  get  the  jobber  salesman  to  develop  some  interest  and 
enthusiasm  in  his  goods  if  he  can,  taking  care  while  doing 
so  to  impart  enough  general  educational  value  so  that  the 
jobber  will  see  that  the  process  builds  up  his  salesman's 
general  efficiency. 

Jobber  salesmen  are  naturally  desirous  of  securing  as 
large  a  volume  of  sales  as  possible,  and  live  sellmg  coopera- 
tion i^laus  interest  them  if  they  appeal  to  them  as  up-to- 
date  and  effective.  Special  leaflets,  booklets  or  manuals 
treating  of  the  article  and  the  best  way  to  sell  it  are  useful, 
and  it  is  frequently  possible  to  secure  the  names  and  home 
addresses  or  even  route  lists  of  the  jobber  salesmen  from 
the  jobber  to  continue  their  interest  by  sending  facts,  ideas 
and  suggestions  at  frequent  intervals.  House  organs  are 
also  used. 

In  some  fields  it  is  possible  to  introduce  a  system  of 
special  rewards  for  salesmen;  and  merchandise  prizes  and 
bonuses  have  been  found  to  be  effective  where  permitted. 
Such  offers  and  plans  must  of  course  be  carefully  presented 
to  the  management  before  attempts  are  made  to  influence 
the  men,  and  in  operating  such  a  plan  care  must  be  taken 
to  keep  the  plan  alive  and  up-to-date  if  it  is  to  be 
effective. 

Special  or  spasmodic  methods  of  securing  jobber  coopera- 
tion may  sometimes  be  practiced  by  firms  which  do  not 


310  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

operate  any  steadily  maintained  efforts  at  jobber  stimula- 
tion, by  means  of  periodic  advertising  drives,  special  prize 
offers  or  seasonal  campaigns.  Jobber  salesmen  respond  to 
novelty,  attractiveness,  interest,  enthusiasm  and  personal 
contact. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

STIMULATING  AND  ASSISTING  THE  DEALER 

248.  The  Manufacturer's  Partnership  with  the  Dealer. — = 
No  modern  salesmanager  considers  his  work  finished  wheu 
his  goods  are  on  the  dealers'  shelves.  Many  failures  have 
come  from  wrong  policy  on  this  point.  The  dealer  is  theo- 
retically a  demand  developer  as  well  as  a  demand  supplier, 
but  practically  speaking,  comparatively  few  dealers  grade 
high  enough  in  experience  and  organization  to  achieve  this 
ideal.  The  manufacturer  must  count  on  bearing  a  third, 
at  least,  of  the  burden  of  getting  the  goods  oif  the  dealers ' 
shelves.  With  even  the  livest  and  ablest  of  retailers  this 
cooperation  is  essential,  because  the  manufacturer  is  logic- 
ally in  the  best  position  to  work  out  the  most  effective  way 
to  sell  his  goods,  and  devise  plans  and  ideas  and  operate 
campaigns  to  develop  demand.  With  the  great  body  of 
mediocre  and  backward  retailers  it  is  actually  necessary, 
if  wider  markets  are  desired,  to  do  the  work  of  develop- 
ment which  properly  should  be  done  by  the  retailer  him- 
self. The  manufacturer  often  needs  actually  to  teach  the 
art  of  retail  salesmanship  and  policy  of  management  to 
the  retailer,  or  at  least  add  to  the  retailer's  knowledge 
and  ability  as  far  as  possible.  Approximately  one-half  or 
two-thirds  of  the  retailers  in  any  field  are  considerably  be- 
low par  as  creative  sellers  of  merchandise,  as  is  evidenced 
by  the  great  inroads  made  by  chain  stores  and  mail-order 
selling,  to  say  nothing  of  the  high  percentage  of  retail 
failures. 

A  salesmanager 's  supremely  important  duty  is  to  in- 

311 


312  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

crease  the  selling  efBcieney  of  the  retailers  handling  his 
goods,  for  such  dealers  are  virtually  partners  in  the  en- 
terprise of  marketing  his  goods.  "Whether  selling  a  staple 
or  a  specialty,  selling  help  is  due  to  the  retailer,  and  every 
auxiliary  means  for  stimulating  demand.  It  should  also 
he  a  foregone  conclusion  that  the  manufacturer  supply  the 
retail  clerks  with  the  right  information  and  arguments  for 
the  product,  even  if  in  no  other  form  than  that  of  instruc- 
tion leaflets  addressed  to  retail  clerks  packed  in  each 
quantity  container.  The  clerk  must  also  be  viewed  as  a 
partner. 

The  accompanying  chart  shows  the  relation  of  the  manu- 
facturer to  the  various  plans  and  methods  of  stimulation  of 
sales  thi'ough  dealers. 

249.  Stimulation  with  National  Advertising. — Effective 
national  or  local  advertising  is  quite  naturally  the  most 
welcome  stimulation  and  assistance  which  a  dealer  might 
ask.  It  is  the  broadest  invitation  at  the  cost  of  the  manu- 
facturer to  the  public  to  come  into  the  dealer's  store  and 
buy.  Long  experience  has  shown  to  retailers  that  the  ad- 
vertised article  is  the  most  desirable,  taking  the  least  time 
and  effort  to  demonstrate  and  sell.  Therefore  national  ad- 
vertising is  a  powerful  stimulant  to  dealers.  Like  all 
powerful  stimulants  it  is  of  course  overdone  for  the  reason 
that  dealers  have  been  deceived  by  glib  and  unscrupulous 
salesmen  in  the  past,  who  made  claims  and  promises  of 
tremendous,  wide-reaching  national  advertising  which 
never  materialized.  Impressive  "flash  sheets"  showing 
proofs  of  extensive  advertising  campaigns  have  been 
shown,  whereas  very  small  ads  or  even  none  at  all  are 
used.  This  has  made  many  dealers  cynical  of  sweeping 
claims  of  publicity.  They  demand  all  possible  proof  and 
details,  for  the  reason  that  the  dealer  finds  it  hard  to  check 
up  the  statements  of  the  salesmen  about  national  adver- 
tising.    It  is  much  more  effective  to  make  a  very  concrete 


STIMULATING  AND  ASSISTING  DEALER    313 

demonstration.  Magazines  and  periodicals  now  often  fur- 
nish statistics  of  circulation  by  states,  cities  and  towns, 
and  it  is  thus  possible  to  furnish  salesmen  with  statistics 
enabling  them  to  demonstrate  to  dealers  in  any  locality  the 
approximate  number  of  subscribers  or  readers  (counting 
no  more  than  3  readers  to  each  subscription  or  copies  sold) 
who  will  probably  see  the  advertising  done  for  his  trade 
benefit.  As  the  strong  temptation  to  over-state  the  amount 
of  national  advertising  done  has  made  many  dealers 
skeptical  even  of  the  value  of  national  advertising  claims, 
therefore  it  is  the  wisest  possible  policy  to  provide  as  much 
of  facts  and  frankness  and  authenticity  as  possible  in  any 
national  advertising  representation. 

To  make  forthcoming  national  advertising  vivid  to  the 
dealer,  it  is  naturally  important  to  show  him  proofs  of  the 
advertisements.  This  is  often  done  by  large  size  folders 
or  books  in  which  colored  reproductions  of  the  covers  of 
the  various  magazines  or  newspapers  are  shown,  together 
with  good  proofs  of  the  advertising  itself.  It  is  a  clever 
scheme  much  used  in  recent  years  to  put  such  advance 
proofs  of  advertising  on  an  accordion  style  folder  so  that 
the  many  "ads"  in  a  proposed  campaign  be  shown  in  a 
continuous  series,  side  by  side,  stretching  out  many  feet 
long  in  such  a  folder  when  opened  out  by  the  salesmen  in 
an  impressive  manner. 

The  "link-up"  argument  after  such  a  campaign  is 
demonstrated  is  a  very  powerful  one,  and  when  made  in 
the  right  manner  with  the  right  introduction  and  by  a 
house  commanding  some  degree  of  confidence  is  usually 
productive  of  results. 

Where  salesmen  cannot  travel,  a  good  mail  presentation 
of  such  advertising  is  of  much  value,  whether  by  a  house 
which  sells  through  jobbers  and  is  endeavoring  to  stimu- 
late demands  from  the  jobber,  or  by  a  house  which  sells 
direct  to  the  trade,  but  does  not  have  a  sales  force  sufficient 


31-i  I\IODERN  SALESaiANAGEMENT 

to  call  on  the  entire  field.  A  new  concern  starting  in  busi- 
ness with  a  national  campaign,  is  under  the  right  conditions 
and  circumstances,  sometimes  able  to  annihilate  time  in 
this  manner  by  inviting  the  cooperation  of  dealers  on  the 
basis  of  national  advertising  about  to  appear  and  thus 
attain  distribution  to  a  fair  degree  simultaneous  with  the 
appearance  of  national  advertising. 

250.  Synchronizing  Dealer  Cooperation  with  the  Appear- 
ance of  Advertising. — Striking  effects  of  unusual  efficiency 
in  getting  business  are  obtainable  in  many  cases  if  dealer 
activity  is  stimulated  at  the  right  moment  when  advertising 
freshly  appears.  This  fact  is  based  upon  the  simple  truth 
that  advertising  is  at  its  maximum  of  efficiency,  simul- 
taneous with  and  immediately  after  its  appearance  before 
the  public.  Its  efficiency  descends  downward  with  each 
succeeding  24  hours  from  its  first  appearance ;  therefore 
it  is  scientific  to  synchronize  the  maximum  of  effort  by 
dealers  everj^where  at  the  moment  of  such  appearance. 
The  effects  of  such  a  plan  are  now  greatly  heightened  by 
the  fact  that  periodicals  of  national  circulation  are  re- 
leased almost  at  the  same  hour  throughout  the  United 
States,  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.  Even  street  cars 
and  billboards  are  now  operated  from  centralized  sources 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  permit  also  of  splendid  synchron- 
ized efforts.  Competent  counselors  can  engineer  plans  of 
this  sort  in  a  manner  which  secures  nearest  to  100%  ef- 
ficiency out  of  national  advertising,  especially  in  cases 
where  such  national  advertising  must  of  necessity  be  closely 
economized  and  made  to  yield  the  last  ounce  of  value. 

Mailing  of  proofs  of  advertisements  appearing,  to  be 
pasted  in  the  dealer's  window  or  set  up  in  the  dealer's 
store  are  excellent  if  the  mailings  are  scheduled  geographi- 
cally to  arrive  at  the  right  time.  SjTichronization  of 
periodical  advertising  with  street  car  and  billboard  pub- 
licity on  a  still  larger  scale  is  also  fully  possible.     Street 


STIMULATING  AND  ASSISTING  DEALER    315 

ear  or  poster  campaigns  can  be  synchronized  with  national 
or  with  localized  efforts,  affording  an  intensified  tool  for 
such  firms  as  operate  on  a  zone  or  territorial  basis. 

Using  miniature  reproductions  of  posters  or  cards  on 
postcards  to  be  mailed  to  the  dealers'  mailing  list  and  dis- 
tributed at  the  store,  is  an  excellent  further  synchroniz- 
ing plan.  The  idea  of  utilizing  a  keynote  design  or  stand- 
ized  typographical  plan  as  part  of  the  strategy  of  a  link- 
up campaign,  synchronizing  with  many  forms  of  effort  all 
bearing  the  same  hallmark  of  identity,  is  one  which  is 
very  distinctive  and  powerful. 

Of  course,  such  a  synchronizing  campaign  naturally  also 
includes  the  work  of  the  sales  force,  which  awaits  the  signal 
of  the  appearance  of  the  advertising  to  start  their  part  of 
the  timed  campaign,  but  often  doing  much  preparatory 
work  in  advance.  The  best  use  for  such  a  high  degree  of 
synchronization  is  by  a  manufacturer  doing  regular  adver- 
tising; one  who  will  be  careful  to  continue  to  develop  the 
ground  that  is  won  in  such  a  ' '  drive ' ' ;  because  it  amounts 
to  nothing  but  a  "flash  in  the  pan,"  when  done  by  a  con- 
cern which  is  not  prepared  to  maintain  the  foothold  in 
public  attention  which  such  a  plan  produces. 

251.  Local  Advertising  at  the  Expense  of  the  Manufac- 
turer or  Half  and  Half. — Dealers  are  united  in  saying  that 
the  maximum  stimulation  to  them  is  directly  local  adver- 
tising. By  this  they  mean  first,  advertising  within  their 
own  stores,  or  signs  outside  of  it,  and  next  street  car  adver- 
tising, newspaper,  billboards,  etc.,  in  their  own  town. 
This  much  desired  form  of  cooperation  and  stimulation  is 
always  a  source  of  dangerous  controversy  between  dealer 
and  manufacturer.  Most  dealers  wish  more  of  this  than 
the  manufacturer  can  afford  to  give.  Salesmen  are  ex- 
tremely likely  to  side  with  the  dealer  in  his  demand  for  an 
unreasonable  amount  of  local  advertising  assistance.  Or- 
ders are  frequently  given  to  salesmen  on  condition  of  pay- 


316  JMODERN  SALESMANAGEIMENT 

meut  for  signs,  special  displays  or  local  advertising.  A 
definite  policy  about  such  matters  is  absolutely  essential  i^ 
harmony  is  to  be  maintained.  At  the  same  time  policy 
must  be  guided  also  by  principle,  and  a  dealer  who  is  en- 
joying a  well-established  trade  for  the  article  naturally 
should  not  require  as  much  assistance  as  the  dealer  en- 
deavoring to  sell  in  a  territory  new  and  full  of  resistence. 
A  firm  will  need  to  establish  some  degree  of  maximum  and 
minimum  advertising  expenditure  which  it  can  afford  to 
give  a  dealer  whose  average  purchasing  volume  reaches 
certain  figures. 

In  search  of  some  kind  of  standard  of  policy,  many  firmfj 
hit  upon  the  50-50  basis.  For  every  dollar  a  dealer  will 
spend  for  advertising  they  will  spend  a  dollar.  This  is  an 
excellent  rule-o '-thumb  plan,  but  in  some  lines  of  trade 
and  for  some  firms  it  is  an  absolute  impossibility.  In  prin- 
ciple it  is  correct,  although  in  practice  not  always  feasible. 
"Wherever  a  dealer  has  been  granted  an  exclusive  agency, 
this  principle,  however,  does  not  hold,  for  it  is  incumbent 
upon  the  dealer,  in  view  of  his  exclusive  arrangements, 
to  develop  prestige  at  his  own  expense. 

Wherever  possible  the  local  advertising  done  by  a  dealer 
should  be  handled  in  a  manner  that  will  connect  itself  with 
the  national  advertising;  and  wherever  possible  dealers 
should  be  stimulated  with  assistance  from  the  manufacturer 
from  his  own  general  advertising  problems.  Dealers  who 
have  well  established  advertising  individuality  of  their  own 
do  not  care  for  this  broad  advertising  assistance,  but  as 
most  dealers  are  deficient  in  this  and  welcome  such  assist- 
ance, a  manufacturer  who  will  give  real  assistance  to  their 
own  general  problems  of  advertising  and  retail  selling, 
quite  apart  from  the  advertising  of  the  manufacturer's 
article,  is  stimulating  the  dealer  in  the  highest  possible 
manner.  Such  broad-minded  and  apparently  altruistic 
service  is  sound  and  businesslike  and  always  bears  fruit. 


STIMULATING  AND  ASSISTING  DEALER    ?A7 

In  any  local  advertising  assistance  it  is  the  better  policy  to 
advertise  the  dealer's  general  business  and  only  incident- 
ally the  manufacturer's  article,  for  it  induces  the  dealer 
to  use  this  advertising  much  more  frequently  than  the  kind 
most  often  supplied  by  manufacturers  in  which  the  manu- 
facturer's name  is  paramount.  Nine-tenths  of  the  dealer's 
so-called  electros  furnished  by  manufacturers  have  this 
grave  defect,  which  merely  results  in  stopping  their  use  by 
the  livest  dealers.  The  second  and  third  rate  dealers  who 
are  not  alert  are  the  only  ones  who  use  such  electros.  The 
better  grade  dealers  look  for  more  individualistic  service. 

252.  lUiscellaneous  Dealer  Helps. — There  are  almost  an 
endless  variety  of  so-called  dealer  helps.  Most  dealers 
have  distinct  preferences  along  these  lines,  and  a  manufac- 
turer can  easily  be  drawn  into  the  development  of  such 
an  endless  variety  of  dealer  helps.  This,  however,  is  un- 
sound policy,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  dealers  are  often 
extremely  insistent  upon  their  pet  forms  of  dealer  helps 
and  become  disgruntled  if  they  are  not  furnished. 

A  firm  policy  is  advisable  with  regard  to  dealer  helps,  if 
the  cost  of  them  is  to  be  kept  within  reasonable  bounds. 
Investigation  has  shown  that  in  many  cases  there  is  no 
greater  source  of  waste  in  advertising  than  in  dealer  helps. 
Dealers  have  a  greater  appetite  for  dealer  helps  at  the  time 
of  order  giving  than  they  have  capacity  to  digest  in  proper 
distribution  and  handling.  Dealers'  cellars  and  waste-bas- 
kets are  full  of  booklets  and  circular  matter  ordered  with- 
out thought,  neglected  or  undistributed.  One  of  the  most 
important  duties  of  a  good  advertising  department  aiming 
at  proper  dealer  stimulation  is  to  work  out  from  the  broad 
facts  of  the  situation  what  are  the  best  dealer  helps  for 
that  particular  product  and  for  the  average  run  of  dealers. 
Some  leeway  must  be  provided  for  unusual  special  casefs, 
but  the  policy  in  the  main  should  be  followed  rigidly.  A 
general  impression  must  be  maintained  among  dealers  that 


318  MODERN  S.VLESMANAGEMENT 

the  firm  is  liberal  in  the  matter  of  dealer  assistance;  but 
the  impression  must  also  be  definitely  established  that  the 
firm  has  its  own  conviction,  based  upon  past  experience  and 
test,  as  to  the  forms  of  dealer  helps  which  are  most  effec- 
tive for  its  article. 

It  is  fairly  nearly  standard  among  all  manufacturers  to 
furnish  moving  picture  lantern  slides,  street  car  cards, 
store-hangers,  window  displays,  decalcomania  signs,  demon- 
stration outfits,  etc.  Imprinted  booklets  are  also  as  a  rule 
furnished  dealers  with  envelopes,  and  addressed  and  mailed 
if  he  will  supply  the  names  and  postage.  Special  and  more 
elaborate  forms  of  cooperation  are  frequently  used,  such 
as  furnishing  electric  signs,  imprinted  stationery,  contain- 
ers, novelties,  show-cases,  etc.  These  are  onlj^  possible  in 
specialties  operating  with  a  considerable  margin  of  profit, 
or  in  return  for  considerations  in  dealer  cooperation  which 
are  important  enough  to  warrant  such  expenditure.  A 
very  much  greater  amount  of  monej^  is  frequently  spent 
for  such  dealer  cooperation  than  is  wise,  in  view  of  the 
greater  results  much  might  be  obtained  by  similar  expendi- 
ture in  other  ways. 

There  is  a  point  of  dealer  help  at  which  a  dealer  no  longer 
becomes  stimulated,  when  too  much  so-called  dealer  help 
and  dealer  cooperation  is  given  him.  It  has  the  effect  of 
pauperizing  the  dealer,  and  smothering  his  own  initiative 
and  efforts.  It  is  extremely  dangerous  to  permit  a  dealer 
to  reach  that  state  of  mind  where  he  consciously  or  un- 
consciously pins  his  faith  to  the  multiplicity  of  selling 
helps  which  a  manufacturer  furnishes  rather  than  upon 
his  own  efforts.  No  amount  of  selling  helps  supplied  by 
a  manufacturer  can  take  the  place  of  real,  live  and  human 
salesmanship  in  the  part  of  the  dealer  and  clerk;  and  one 
of  the  chief  stimulants  to  give  him  is  to  punch  home  the 
fact  that  it  is  distinctly  up  to  himself  personally.  Cyni- 
cal manufacturers  believe  that  it  is  good  business  to  load 


STIMULATING  AND  ASSISTING  DEALER    319' 

a  dealer  pretty  heavily  with  goods,  hecause  he  may  then 
be  counted  upon  to  move  them  out.  This  is  an  error  of 
policy,  as  the  dealer  is  not  so  ready  to  re-order  under  such 
circumstances. 

253.  House-Organ  for  Stimulating  Dealers. — If  it  were 
not  more  or  less  ' '  done  to  death, ' '  the  house-organ  idea,  of 
a  little,  regularly  issued  magazine  or  bulletin  to  dealers 
would  be  a  splendid  idea.  Even  under  the  circumstances, 
though  there  are  a  great  number  of  house  organs  published 
for  the  retailer,  he  invariably  shows  his  real  interest  to- 
ward the  ones  which  stand  out  with  an  individuality  and 
which  are  thoroughly  worth  while. 

The  value  of  a  house  organ  lies  in  establishing  a  line  of 
communication  to  dealers  which  is  a  regularly  repeated 
messenger,  with  individuality.  It  is  an  open  road  to  the 
dealers'  mentality.  These  house  organs  are  in  fact  sales- 
men, with  the  same  degree  of  personality  that  a  personal 
salesman  might  have;  in  fact  they  have  a  greater  degree 
of  effectiveness  along  certain  lines  because  they  are  more 
frequent,  more  complete  and  more  economical. 

254.  Special  Day  and  Week  Plans. — Although  in  the  past 
somewhat  overdone,  the  idea  of  setting  aside  a  certain  day 
or  week  when  the  public  is  invited  to  concentrate  its  at- 
tention upon  an  article  or  a  line  of  goods,  is  inherently  a 
good  one.  The  mere  focusing  of  mind  is  productive  of 
some  result.  "White  Lead  Day,"  "Raisin  Day,"  "Music 
Week,"  "Educator  Week,"  etc.,  have  been  operated  with 
success.  The  latter  for  a  shoe  concern  is  an  example  of 
an  elaborate  plan.  Starting  one  year  as  a  drive  for  school 
children's  trade,  with  special  parades  of  school  childreu. 
with  costumes,  the  idea  branched  out  so  that  92  newspapers^ 
were  used  for  the  campaign  with  auxiliary  posters,  book- 
lets,  window  displays,  etc.  Seven  thousand  dollars'  worth 
of  750  scholarship  prizes  were  used,  given  to  the  10-  to  19- 
year-old  schoolboys  or  girls  inducing  the  greatest  number 


320  MODERN  SALESIMANAGEMENT 

of  adults  to  go  to  Educator  stores.     New  dealers  and  in- 
creased stocking  among  old  dealers  were  the  results. 

Some  of  the  methods  used  to  make  a  "special  week" 
proposition  interesting  and  profitable  to  dealers  have  been : 

1.  Circularizing  the  dealers'  customers  direct  by  mail 
during  the  "special  week." 

2.  Doing  local  newspaper,  street  car  or  billboard  adver- 
tising. 

3.  Arranging  especially  attractive  window  displays  or 
interior  store  demonstrations. 

4.  Offering  price  inducements  or  bonus  goods. 

5.  Arranging  a  prize  contest  among  clerks. 

6.  Advertising  a  prize  contest  open  to  the  public. 

7.  Offering  especial  attractive  advertising  novelties  to 
buyers. 

255.  Window  Display  Plans  and  Service. — One  of  the 
problems  of  the  manufacturer  who  is  continually  giving 
out  good  advertising  matter,  is  to  get  the  dealer  to  use  it 
in  such  a  way  that  it  benefits  him.  Once  the  dealer  has 
been  started  and  has  had  an  opportunity  to  observe  the 
good  results,  his  continued  efforts  may  be  depended  upon. 

There  are  several  different  methods  of  getting  dealers  to 
make  window  displays: 

1.  A  prize  contest  among  dealers  for  the  photograph 
of  the  best  window  display. 

2.  Traveling  one  or  more  window  display  specialties  for 
the  sole  purpose  of  getting  up  attractive  displays  for  the 
dealer. 

3.  Employing  an  organization  of  window  experts  to 
take  charge  of  the  campaign. 

Prize  contests  for  the  best  window  display  have  been 
conducted  by  the  manufacturers  of  office  appliances,  foods, 
drug  specialties,  books,  etc. 

If  a  house  organ  is  issued,  the  offer  is  advertised  through 
its  pages,  otherwise  a  circular  letter  is  sent  to  dealers,  an- 


STIMULATING  AND  ASSISTING  DEALER    321 

nouncing  that  a  cash  prize  will  be  given  for  the  photograph 
of  the  best  window  display  of  the  manufacturer's  goods. 

In  addition  to  oiiering  the  cash  prize,  some  manufactur- 
ers offer  to  reproduce  the  photo  of  the  window  display  in 
their  advertising.  This,  of  course,  offers  the  double  incen- 
tive of  free  publicity  for  the  dealer  as  well  as  the  reward. 

Where  national  advertising  is  not  used  the  photo  of  the 
best  display  is  sometimes  introduced  in  the  trade  papers, 
or  even  in  local  newspaper  advertising  paid  for  by  the 
manufacturer. 

The  plan  of  having  one,  or  a  full  corps,  of  traveling 
window  display  experts,  has  been  found  to  be  of  great 
advantage  by  manufacturers  of  specialties  and  also  by 
manufacturers  whose  goods  can  be  demonstrated.  Con- 
cerns like  the  Durham  Duplex  Razor  Company  used  this 
plan  extensively  in  launching  their  product  upon  the  mar- 
ket. 

There  are  manufacturers  in  the  food  line,  as  well  as  in 
other  specialty  lines,  who  have  a  permanent  staff  of  demon- 
strators and  window  display  experts  who  travel  around  the 
country  and  put  up  displays  for  dealers. 

This  is  a  plan  with  which  the  dealers  cooperate  in  a  very 
full  way.  They  are  generally  willing  to  give  the  use  of 
their  windows  entirely  to  the  display  of  the  manufactur- 
ers' goods,  in  consideration  of  the  expert  window  service 
they  are  receiving. 

In  the  case  of  demonstration  articles  it  is  sometimes 
necessary  for  the  manufacturer  to  make  some  payment  for 
the  use  of  the  window ;  however,  this  is  not  the  general  rule 
in  the  case  of  staple  articles,  when  especially  attractive 
window  material  is  given. 

256.  Bonus  and  Certificate  Plans. — Bonus  and  certificate 
plans  are  the  methods  used  for  permanently  retaining 
dealer  interest  over  competitive  products.  Strictly  speak- 
ing, owing  to  the  fact  of  their  being  permanent  policies, 


322  IMODERN  SALESMANAGE:\IENT 

they  cannot  be  classed  among  the  usual  sales  stimulation 
methods.  Nevertheless,  when  supplemented  by  good  dealer 
correspondence  work,  calling  attention  to  the  possibilities 
of  bonus  goods,  etc.,  they  are  a  splendid  means  of  de- 
veloping increased  sales  and  dealer's  good  will. 
There  are  many  variations  of  the  bonus  plan : 

1.  Offering  bonus  goods  or  cash  credit  in  consideration 
of  price  maintenance  cooperation. 

2.  Packing  coupons  with  each  article. 

Several  specialty  manufacturers  who  have  found  it 
necessary  to  employ  definite  price  maintenance  plans  have 
arranged  them  in  such  a  way  that  they  are  used  actually 
as  a  means  for  stimulating  dealers  to  obtain  larger  orders. 

For  example:  the  Prophylactic  Tooth  Brush  (manufac- 
tured by  the  Florence  Manufacturing  CompanjO  is  sold 
to  dealers  under  an  arrangement  whereby  they  obtain 
bonus  goods  if  they  sell  a  certain  quantity  and  maintain 
price. 

A  certificate  bearing  a  serial  number  and  an  expiration 
date  is  enclosed  in  each  package  containing  one  dozen  pro- 
phylactic tooth  brushes.  On  the  back  of  the  certificate  is  a 
contract  which  certifies  that  the  retailer  has  sold  the  one 
dozen  tooth  brushes  contained  in  the  package  at  not  less 
than  35c  (the  retail  price  for  the  adult  size).  This  the 
retailer  signs  and  returns  to  the  manufacturer. 

"Whenever  three  certificates  for  the  adult  size  brushes  are 
received  by  the  Florence  Manufacturing  Company  within 
the  calendar  year,  the  retailer  sending  them  receives  one- 
sixth  of  a  dozen  prophjdactic  tooth  brushes  as  a  bonus. 

This  plan  operates  two  ways;  in  the  first  place,  it  is  an 
incentive  for  the  dealer  to  buy  prophylactic  tooth  brushes 
in  dozen  lots  and  to  dispose  of  them  rapidly  in  order  to 
obtain  his  bonus  goods  within  the  time  limit ;  and  in  the 
second  place  it  is  a  very  effective  moral  suasion  method 
for  preventing  price  cutting. 


STIMULATING  AND  ASSISTING  DEALER    323 

The  practice  of  packing  coupons  witli  the  products  is 
another  method  of  dealer  stimulation  which  in  essentials 
amounts  to  a  bonus  plan.  There  are  now  concerns  en- 
gaged in  the  business  of  distributing  coupons  to  a  group 
of  manufacturers  in  much  the  same  way  that  the  trading 
stamp  people  operate. 

A  group  of  non-competing  manufacturers  will  pack  a 
certain  kind  of  coupon  with  their  product  and  these  cou- 
pons are  redeemed  by  the  coupon  companies. 

The  premiums  which  they  distribute  vary — they  are  in 
the  shape  of  regular  premium  articles  distributed  through 
a  catalog  and  covering  about  the  same  line  of  goods  that 
the  premium  houses  offer;  or  they  are  book  or  magazine 
subscriptions;  and  in  a  few  cases  actual  cash  is  offered. 

The  advantages  of  this  plan  are  that  it  offers  the  dealer 
a  new  grip  on  his  coupon  or  stamp  collecting  customers; 
also  the  fact  that  all  the  manufacturers  forming  the  group 
are  mentioned  on  the  coupon,  and  thus  there  is  consider- 
able interchange  of  advertising  value,  which  benefits  both 
manufacturer  and  dealer. 

As  a  whole,  however,  the  coupon  idea  is  not  gaining,  as 
it  is  recognized  as  a  parasite  upon  trading  which  is  un- 
sound. 

257.  Clerk  Education. — Manufacturers  in  all  lines  of 
trade  are  coming  to  realize  more  than  ever  before  that  the 
volume  of  dealer  sales  depends  to  a  greater  extent  on  the 
amount  of  effort  expended  by  the  clerk  than  on  simply  the 
good-will  of  the  proprietor. 

Specialty  houses  particularly,  as  well  as  those  whose 
product  requires  some  sort  of  demonstration  talk,  have  put 
forward  plans  for  stimulating  the  clerks. 

A  certain  breakfast  food  concern  offers  a  special  cor- 
respondence course  in  salesmanship  to  the  clerks  of  any 
dealer  who  handles  their  line  of  breakfast  foods.     They 


324  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

offer  no  reward,  nor  do  they  exact  a  promise  from  either 
the  dealer  or  his  clerk  to  push  their  product. 

The  results,  however,  are  invariably  gratifying.  The- 
dealer  in  the  first  place  appreciates  the  assistance  which 
is  rendered  in  mating  his  clerks  better  salesmen  and  the 
salesmen  evidence  their  appreciation  of  the  help  given  by 
pushing  the  line  on  all  occasions. 

The  manufacturer  of  a  certain  office  appliance  sent  out 
letters  to  all  the  dealers  offering  a  course  in  retail  sales- 
manship free  if  the  dealer  would  simply  send  in  a  list  of  his 
sales  clerks. 

As  an  inducement  to  clerks  to  take  up  the  course,  prizes 
were  offered  to  all  who  completed  their  studies  with  a  cer- 
tain percentage  of  credit  marks. 

Another  list  of  prizes  was  also  offered  for  the  largest 
number  of  their  products  sold  each  month. 

The  immediate  result  of  this  plan  was  that  more  repeat 
orders  were  received  from  dealers  than  ever  before.  In  ad- 
dition, the  good-will  of  both  the  dealer  and  the  retail  sales 
clerk  was  peiTnanently  secured. 

Booklets  issued  by  manufacturers  for  the  education  of 
clerks  regarding  the  selling  of  their  particular  goods  have 
proven  valuable. 

The  Victor  Talking  Machine  Company  has  been  using  a 
booklet  of  this  character  with  success.  Dealers  welcome 
help  in  making  their  salesmen  more  efficient.  The  booklet 
intended  to  instruct  clerks  has  been  found  economical  and 
valuable,  particularly  so  when  written  in  conversational 
style. 

Traveling  special  representatives  for  the  purpose  of 
teaching  clerks  how  to  demonstrate  and  sell,  have  been 
used,  for  instance,  by  the  Thermos  bottle  makers  and  other 
concerns.  "While  this  method  has  brought  very  excellent 
results,  it  is,  of  course,  expensive. 

258.  Salesmen-at-Large. — It     frequently    happens    that 


STIMULATING  AND  ASSISTING  DEALER    325 

sales  in  certain  territories  will  gradually  decline,  because 
the  dealers  do  not  feel  able  to  move  the  goods  and  abso- 
lutely refuse  to  talk  to  the  salesmen  as  long  as  they  have 
stock  on  hand.  For  this  reason  a  number  of  houses  have 
added  to  their  staff  what  they  call  "Salesmen  at  large" 
whose  business  is  solely  to  go  around  among  the  trade  and 
straighten  out  tangles,  arouse  the  leader's  enthusiasm  anew, 
and  altogether  to  get  him  in  line  again. 

These  ''Salesmeu-at-large"  are  usually  the  highest  type 
of  salesmen,  who  were  formerly  traveling  salesmen,  and 
who  have  a  large  measure  of  personal  tact  and  stimulative 
influence.  They  call  on  the  dealer,  explain  that  they  do 
not  want  an  order  and  could  not  take  one,  but  simply  want 
to  show  the  dealer  how  to  sell  more  goods. 

Sometimes  the  dealer 's  complaint  is  that  he  has  been  left 
with  a  lot  of  stale  stuff.  This  is  particularly  true  in  the 
food  product  line,  and  concerns  like  H,  J.  Heinz  &  Com- 
pany have  a  regular  corps  of  men  who  go  about  relieving 
overstocked  dealers  of  goods  they  cannot  dispose  of. 

In  addition  these  men  usually  give  strong  selling  talks 
to  the  dealer  on  the  successful  methods  used  by  other  deal- 
ers in  selling  exceptionally  large  quantities  of  the  prod- 
uct, how  to  get  benefit  out  of  the  national  advertising  of 
the  manufacturer,  how  to  do  local  advertising,  how  to  do 
window  display  work,  etc. 

In  other  words,  the  "  Salesman-at-large "  is  virtually  a 
representative  of  the  manufacturer  who  has  no  axe  to 
grind,  but  who  is  simply  out  looking  for  the  dealer's  inter- 
est. 

The  fact  that  these  men  always  announce  that  they  are 
not  there  to  take  orders  and  cannot  accept  an  order,  gives 
them  a  hearing  even  from  the  uninterested  dealer. 

Very  frequently  these  men  act  as  adjusters  in  reality, 
straightening  out  old  difficulties  and  misunderstandings 


326  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

and  getting  dealers  to  work  on  a  right  cooperative  basis 
with  the  house  again. 

There  is  still  another  type  of  salesman,  who,  like  the 
"Salesmen-at-large,"  does  not  sell  goods  but  renders 
service.  He  is  called  the  traveling  ad-man,  whose  service 
as  a  large  sales  promotor  has  been  thoroughly  tried  out 
by  one  firm  who  managed  quite  successfully  to  get  dealers 
to  do  more  local  advertising,  and  to  swell  orders  consider- 
ably. 

Like  other  alert  manufacturers,  they  have  always  sup- 
plied dealers  with  cuts,  copy  for  local  newspapers  and 
other  good  helps  created  by  a  good  advertising  depart- 
ment. But  they  found  by  experience  that  even  the  best 
advertising  helps  in  the  way  of  electros  and  copy  were  not 
used  when  it  involved  the  spending  of  money  by  the  dealer. 

So  the  "Traveling  Ad-man"  was  called  into  requisition 
to  visit  dealers,  talk  advertising,  and  leave  him  with  the 
idea  that  if  the  company  finds  it  worth  while  to  invest 
money  sending  a  man  to  talk  advertising  without  having 
to  solicit  business,  it  must  pay  to  advertise  clothes. 

The  visiting  ad-man  helps  with  suggestions  for  window 
displays,  talks  to  clerks  and  often  seeps  himself  with  the 
local  atmosphere  so  that  he  can  give  the  dealer  wise  sug- 
gestions for  handling  his  selling  problems. 

This  company  cites  several  illuminating  instances  as 
proof  that  the  traveling  ad-man  has  succeeded  in  boosting 
up  individual  dealers'  orders  considerably. 

After  the  visit  of  the  traveling  ad-man,  the  orders  were 
boosted  from  $87.50  the  year  before,  to  $600  the  year  fol- 
lowing his  visit,  and  $2,500  the  year  after,  as  a  direct  result 
of  using  his  plans.  Another  dealer  doubled  his  orders  im- 
mediately. 

Because  of  the  fact  that  salesmanagers  nowadays  have  so 
many  duties  and  complicated  problems,  not  so  much  travel- 
ing is  done  by  either  the  salesmanager  or  any  other  sales 


STIMULATING  AND  ASSISTING  DEALER    327 

executive.  This  results  in  a  highly  undesirable  situation 
of  aloofness  from  actual  contact  with  the  trade.  The 
salesman-at-large  is  a  sound  function  in  a  sales  organiza- 
tion, whatever  his  title  or  method.  An  executive  brain  is 
needed  to  see  the  trade  at  close  range. 

Ofttimes  there  is  a  semi-political  purpose  which  a  sales- 
man-at-large can  serve;  as  an  emissary  to  trade  conven- 
tions of  dealers  and  distributors ;  adjuster  of  disputes,  con- 
troversies, special  competition  and  other  hard  field  prob- 
lems. 


CHAPTER  XXX 

SALES  SYSTEM  AND  GRAPHIC  RECORDS 

259.  Visualizing  the  Sales  Field. — As  all  fields  of  selling 
are  of  fairly  wide  extent  geographically,  a  map  is  the 
very  first  necessity  in  order  to  get  a  real  conception  of  the 
field.  Every  salesmanager  should  have  hanging  up  in  his 
office  a  thoroughly  spacious  map  of  his  entire  territory, 
and,  if  possible,  a  system  of  marking  on  this  map,  so  that 
the  conditions  or  possibilities  of  the  sales  field  should  be 
visual  to  him  at  all  times.  There  is  nothing  more  definitely 
stimulating  to  a  salesmanager,  nor  for  accuracy  of  service 
to  his  mind,  than  such  a  map.  A  salesmanager  who  reaches 
the  entire  United  States  should  have  a  wall  map  of  the 
United  States,  as  large  as  the  side  of  his  wall  will  con- 
veniently permit,  and  preferably  in  front  of  him  so  that  on 
raising  his  eyes  from  his  desk  he  can  see  it.  This  map 
should  first  of  all  contain  the  boundaries  of  the  sales  dis- 
trict, each  district  being  numbered  and  colored  preferably 
with  the  district  headquarters  marked  with  a  specially 
colored  pin.  In  addition  to  this,  the  map  should  show 
for  each  district  one  or  two  of  the  decisive  factors  indi- 
cating the  development  in  sales  of  that  district.  This  may 
be  in  such  cases  where  the  number  of  dealers  is  not  too 
great,  a  pin  for  every  dealer ;  or  for  every  town  opened  up 
or  for  every  dealer  reaching  a  certain  volume  of  sales. 
There  should  also  be  specially  colored  pins  or  symbolic 
markings  indicating  the  bad  spots  or  backward  conditions 
in  the  territory. 

This  map  is  not  only  useful  to  the  salesmanager,  but  is 
also  valuable  for  the  general  executives  of  the  business  to 

328 


SALES  SYSTEM  AND  GRAPHIC  RECORDS    329 

use  as  well  as  for  the  salesmen  when  they  visit  the  sales- 
manager's  office. 

260.  Map  and  Tacks  and  Other  Graphic  Systems.— 
Through  the  use  of  map  and  tack  system  a  great  many 
graphic  records  of  sales  conditions  may  be  carefully  kept 
up  and  studied.  The  first  of  these  kinds  of  records  are 
the  sales  possibilities  of  the  territory.  An  ammunition 
house  would  greatly  need  a  county  map  of  the  United 
States  showing  just  what  game  is  obtainable  in  the  various 
counties^  with  possibly  also  the  location  of  shooting  clubs, 
etc.  The  same  principle  is  applicable  to  any  business; 
a  map  system  showing  the  presence  of  determining  factors 
of  trade  possibilities,  by  counties,  if  possible,  should  be 
available. 

Map  and  tack  systems  are  further  important  for  the  rout- 
ing of  salesmen,  showing  jumps  from  town  to  town  with  the 
aid  of  a  string,  placed  from  tack  to  tack.  By  such  means 
a  salesman's  route  may  not  only  be  planned  efficiently,  but 
can  also  be  studied  strategically  in  order  that  he  may  not 
have  the  opportunity  to  abuse  his  travel  routing  for  his  own 
personal  comfort.  In  many  businesses  it  is  also  possible 
to  list  the  exact  location  of  customers  of  different  types 
and  grades;  even  to  list  salesmen's  calls  and  indicate  with 
red  pins  customers  on  whom  salesmen  have  not  called 
within  a  certain  limit  of  time.  Further  individual  appli- 
cations of  the  map  and  tack  system  are  possible  according 
to  individual  needs.  Specialized  maps  covering  definite 
factors,  such  as  weather,  crops,  soil,  trade,  jobbing,  or  other 
factors,  are  often  extremely  valuable.  Individual  maps  of 
city  zones,  for  the  more  detailed  and  careful  routing  of 
salesmen  in  the  metropolitan  district,  are  of  great  value 
and  will  produce  excellent  results.  There  is  far  too  much 
cris-crossing  as  a  rule  in  metropolitan  districts,  which  a 
properly  studied  map  and  re-zoning  will  eliminate. 

261.  Unit   Order   Forms. — Much   misunderstanding   and 


h 


•3 

3: 

Is 

•s 

i 

II 

'SI 

**  2 

;£s 

m  w 

"Si 

^ss 

^ 

•   B 

■3  • 

s 

^  -S 

<?r 

5"' 

a  J3 

E 

:i^ 

o. 

"t 

4> 

e: 

3 

en 

1 

Co 

t 

CO 

Z                            ..i* 

O                            c  t  £5  . 

^                                            8  *  °  o  o 

d            :-^:: 

3                            S|5|| 

<=■           l:li;. 

.C«                           .§.„2T 

z                  ;;=?5-? 

s           lllili 

O                          'i-SSSS 

>           <.-.. 

^" "    ■'  'J 

^ 

Sw 

pg                   113 

■"5                    sis 

11            IN 

V3.«J                                      -  °  " 

scz:                           5?? 

I|                    -Si 

, 

o       «. 

a 

5oi 

Sit 

u 

rl-^ 

=  ■"6 

s 

sx.*s 

z 

Si*  8 

H 

a 
u 

•iSE 

^ 

-i%l 

H 

O 

n?.? 

5 

*3  •«" 

z 

a 

iiti 

^ 

i:: 

CO 

233 

O) 

OP) 

a 

a 

n 

tt 

Cd 

M^ 

a 

« 

a. 

< 

** , 

w 

|11 

C         O 

o 

CO 

1! 

M 

as 

:?3 

at 

-s. 

■sss 

rt 

H 

w 

If 

S 

i'f 

s> 

III 

s 

111 

b) 

^li.i 

OS 

^■s\ 

a 

UA 

'JU 

^iSS 

^^"52 

i   n 


!i 

b 

09 

5 

ffli 

01 

^! 

2 

U 

ii 

llll 

3.«.  . 
b*«  o  a  « 


1§ 


5g 


E 


T 


i'. 


Vi 

:5s 

1^ 

o 

>1 

M 

^ 

ct 

3S 

-»    s 


(1  M 


X 


I 


X 


J 


532  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

loss  can  be  traced  to  an  inadequate  order  system.  If  a 
count  were  made  of  the  number  of  times  an  order  is  re- 
corded or  details  of  the  order  copied  in  some  form,  it  would 
be  found  to  average  12  or  15,  and  in  some  cases  reach  25 
or  30 — with  all  the  attendant  delay  and  chance  of  error. 

"With  the  modern  unit  system  there  is  no  reason  for  any 
such  duplication  or  waste,  and  the  unit  system  fits  in  most 
perfectly  with  modem  sales  requirements. 

The  unit  system  is  simply  a  set  of  forms,  fitted  for  type- 
writer spacing,  and  made  in  carbon  at  one  operation,  which 
covers  every  record  needed  for  the  entire  transaction  down 
to  the  bill  of  lading.  The  units  of  direct  interest  to  the 
sales  department  are : 

Alphabetical  Sales  Record. 

Salesmen's  Territorial  or  Geographical  Record. 

Chronological  Record  of  Shipments. 

Numerical  Record  of  Transaction  (the  efficient  handling 
of  office  records  depends  upon  a  standard  of  filing). 

262.  Salesmen's  Report  Blank. — It  is  a  sound  principle 
always  to  demand  a  salesman's  report  blank  covering  the 
day's  work,  name  of  town,  record  of  every  call  made,  orders 
taken,  reasons  for  failure  to  secure  orders,  remarks  made 
by  prospects  with  bearing  on  the  business.  Some  firms 
require  a  list  of  calls  made,  and  a  separate  report  blank 
for  each  call,  so  as  to  obtain  complete  particulars.  For 
example,  one  large  and  successful  firm  instructs  its  sales- 
men to  fill  out  the  following  items  on  the  card  of  each  pros- 
pect: 

State  exactly  line  of  hus^iness: 

Occupies  Location 

Store         (large  or  small)         Corner 
Shop  "     "     "  Main  Street 

Office  only  "     "     "  Side  Street 

Warehouse  "     "     " 


SALES  SYSTEM  AND  GRAPHIC  RECORDS    333 

Appearance  Does  he  use  Advertising? 
Good  What  kind  ? 

Average  In  which  of  our  advertising 

Indifferent  is  he  interested  ? 

What  goods  in  our  line  does  he  specially  push? 

List  of  the  various  grades  and  the  average  annual  eon- 
sumption  of  each  grade. 

What  percentage  of  this  consumption  is  furnished  by 
us,  and  by  our  competitors  ? 

Reasons  for  preference  of  other  firms. 

Name  of  firm ;  name  of  buyer  and  full  particulars  about 
him. 

Date  of  interview  and  name  of  salesman. 

The  information  thus  obtained  is  put  on  "Dealer  Record 
Cards,"  on  which  are  entered  in  addition  to  the  sales  made 
to  the  dealer  the  dates  when  the  salesman  called,  the  kind 
and  amount  of  advertising  matter  supplied  to  him  and 
place  provided  for  a  three-year  summary  of  purchases. 

263.  Salesmen's  Eoute  List  and  Route  Maps. — This  shows 
the  itinerary,  as  mapped  out  by  the  home  or  branch 
office.  A  copy  of  this  list  is  furnished  to  every  department 
head  or  employee  who  may  have  occasion  to  correspond  with 
the  salesman  (this  generally  means  the  shipping  clerk, 
factory  superintendent,  treasurer,  etc.).  But  in  every  case 
a  duplicate  of  such  correspondence  goes  to  the  salesman- 
age  r. 

Sales  maps  by  states  or  sections,  showing  salesmen's 
routes,  through  the  medium  of  pins  or  tacks  and  strings 
of  various  colors,  are  needed.  The  color  scheme  is  very  im- 
portant. For  example,  colored  string  is  used  to  differem 
tiate  between  salesmen's  routes,  when  salesmen  are  cover 
ing  or  overlapping  on  the  same  territories.  Blue  pins  or 
tacks  may  be  utilized  to  indicate  customers,  red  tacks  pros- 
pects, yellow  tacks  competitor 's  customers.    Black  tacks  in* 


334  MODERN  SALES:MANAGEMENT 

dicate  dealers  who  must  receive  special  attention.  Com- 
bination black  and  white  tacks  indicate  customers  who  must 
be  called  on  every  month ;  green  and  white,  customers  who 
must  be  called  on  every  three  months. 

264.  Detailed  Summaries. — Salesmanagers  frequently  are 
so  busy  looking  at  detail  that  the  perspective  on  the  detail 
is  lost.  This  is  avoided  by  having  a  good  system  of  sum- 
marizing. A  pocket-size  book  of  graphic  charts,  or  a  loose- 
leaf  binder  holding  regular  letter-size  sheets  and  charts  is 
very  valuable,  and  should  be  kept  close  at  hand. 

The  factors  to  be  reviewed  in  such  a  broad  general  sum- 
mary have  been  treated  elsewhere  in  part ;  this  chapter  has 
to  do  merely  with  the  minor  factors  of  sales  organization. 
The  general  plan  of  the  book  of  summaries  might  well  be 
grouped  under  these  broad  divisions: 

One  for  each  salesman,  one  for  each  department,  one  for 
each  territory,  one  for  the  whole  business.  These  sheets 
(or  graphic  charts)  should  summarize  the  sales  work  done, 
weekly,  monthly  and  annually,  featuring  all  the  deductions 
to  be  made  from  gross  in  order  to  secure  the  net,  such 
as  salaries,  commissions,  traveling  expenses,  goods  returned, 
allowances  made,  bad  debts,  etc. 

Another  important  summarj^  of  information  shown  on  a 
specially  prepared  chart  or  form  should  cover  the  fol- 
lowing : 

1.  Number  of  States  being  worked  as  a  territory. 

2.  Number  of  counties  in  territory. 

3.  Number  of  towns,  of  a  population  to  be  determined 
upon. 

4.  Number  of  counties  worked. 

5.  Number  of  counties  missed. 

6.  Number  of  towns  worked. 

7.  Number  of  towns  missed. 

8.  Number  of  customers  in  territory. 

9.  Number  of  prospects  in  territory. 


SALES  SYSTEM  AND  GRAPHIC  RECORDS    335 

10.     Number  of  desired  customers  in  territory. 

There  should  also  be  prepared  two  specially  designed 
ruled  forms,  which  would  permit  the  clerk  in  charge  of 
these  records  to  record  the  number  of  calls  made  by  sales- 
men, upon  one  of  the  forms  called  "the  daily  report"; 
while  the  second  form  would  constitute  a  monthly  recapitu- 
lation and  furnish  the  following  information,  in  tabulated 
form: 

1.  Names  of  each  salesman  working  in  the  territory. 

2.  Number  of  probable  customers  in  territory. 

3.  Total  number  of  calls  made  by  each  salesman. 

4.  Total  number  of  calls  upon  customers. 

5.  Total  number  of  calls  upon  prospects. 

6.  Total  number  re-calls. 

7.  Total  volume  of  sales  made  by  each  salesman,  in  cur- 
rent month. 

8.  Average  number  of  calls  per  day. 

9.  Increase  in  number  of  customers. 

10.  Average  unit  value  of  invoices. 

General  summaries  are  the  telescopes  of  business  study 
for  details  in  perspective  as  contrasted  with  the  microscope 
for  detail,  finely  cut.  Perspective  is  a  thing  very  much 
neglected.  The  most  vital  things  that  you  can  know  about 
your  general  sales  organization  and  field  problems  are : 

1.  How  many  customers  have  you? 

2.  "Whether  you  are  adding  to  your  list  of  customers. 

3.  AVhether  you  are  losing  accounts. 

4.  How  many  prospects  have  you? 

5.  Are  your  prospects  being  turned  into  customers? 

6.  Are  you  reducing  the  number  of  probable  customers 
and  increasing  the  number  of  prospective  customers  ? 

These  questions  are  the  very  life-blood  of  saleswork  in 
the  field  and  are  far  more  important  than  the  number  of 
accounts  you  have  on  your  books  and  the  amount  of  out- 
standings, as  these  latter  facts  are  nothing  but  a  matter  of 


336  MODERN  SALESIilANAGEMENT 

record  of  closed  transactions,  representing  goods  that  have 
been  sold  and  delivered. 

These  records  are  really  control  records  which  should  not 
be  made  up  only  to  be  admired  but  to  be  used,  studied, 
brooded  over  and  lessons  taken  therefrom. 

265.  Expense  Reports  and  Expense  Accoiints. — Each 
salesman  should  be  furnished  with  standardized  blanks. 
As  there  is,  in  well-managed  firms,  a  clear  and  definite 
understanding  with  salesmen  and  incorporated  in  the  sales 
manual  regarding  the  expenses  which  are  allowed  by  the 
firm,  and  the  heading  under  which  each  type  of  item  should 
be  listed,  so  that  totalization  and  analysis  of  each  report 
may  be  uniform. 

266.  Memorandum  Forms. — These  are  less  expensive  than 
the  letter  heads  used  for  correspondence  with  outsiders. 
The  manual  provides  instructions  showing  just  how  they 
are  to  be  used,  including  directions  as  to  where  and  how 
they  are  to  be  filed.  The  original  copy,  as  a  rule,  is  in- 
serted in  a  loose-leaf  binder  under  the  proper  index,  thus 
becoming  part  of,  or  supplement  to,  the  sales  manual,  so 
that  this  book  may  represent  a  reference  volume  of  instruc- 
tions issued,  information  received,  etc.  One  highly  neces- 
sary caution  that  is  generally  printed  in  large  type  and 
in  red  ink  is  this:  "This  memorandum  when  used  for 
salesmen's  instructions  must  be  filed  at  once  in  the  proper 
binder.    Do  not  carry  it  in  your  pocket.'' 

267.  General  Records  That  a  Sales  Office  Should  Have. — A 
general  review  of  the  records  and  systems  of  use  in  a  sales 
office  might  be  as  follows: 

1.     Records  of  Current  Business. 

a.  List  of  dealers  handling  the  goods,  divided  into 
classes  "A,"  "B,"  etc.  Summary  of  their  rating,  credit, 
three-year  record  of  orders,  shipping  and  routing  direc- 
tions, record  of  salesmen's  calls,  complaints,  special  re- 
marks, class  of  customers  served,  location-value  of  store, 


SALES  SYSTEM  AND  GRAPHIC  RECORDS    337 

typie   of   stock   carried,    competing   brands   handled   and 
pushed. 

b.  List  of  prospective  dealers,  with  dates  of  calls  and  re- 
marks. 

c.  Distribution  sales  map  by  states  or  sections  (blue  pins 
for  dealers  carrying  stock,  red  for  prospects,  green  for 
other  dealers,  with  numbers  on  the  pin  heads  to  indicate 
dating  or  product  handled). 

d.  Salesmen's  route  maps,  with  routes  "strung"  to 
show  journeys  and  jumps. 

e.  Order  records,  filed  geographically ;  also  by-products, 
or  sizes,  etc. 

f.  Salesmen's  records,  orders,  trips,  etc. 

g.  Expense  records. 

h.  Factory  and  shipping  records. 

i.  Form  letter  and  follow-up  record. 

j.  Cessation  and  dealer  complaint  records. 

2.  Consumer  Data  hy  Districts  or  Counties. 

a.  Consumption  (gross  quantities  per  capita,  character 
of  people,  etc.). 

b.  Dealers  (per  square  mile,  per  1,000  of  population, 
etc.). 

c.  "Wealth,  crop  peculiarities  and  general  status  data. 

3.  Reference  and  Information  File. 

a.  Addresses  and  circulars  of  sign,  novelty  and  auxil- 
iary service  concerns. 

b.  Periodical  rate  and  circulation  data. 

c.  Office  records  and  files — cuts,  drawings,  orders, 
memos,  letters,  requisitions. 

d.  House  organ  or  material  or  suggestion  file. 

e.  Scrap  book  files  and  advertising  literature. 

f.  Salesmen's,  missionaries'  and  field  reports. 

g.  Complaint  file. 

h.     Tickler  and  schedule  file. 


CHAPTER  XXXI 

SALES  ENGINEERING;  INVESTIGATIONS  AND  SURVEYS 

268.  Applying  Engineering  Standards  to  Sales  Work. — As 
a  final  move  in  squeezing  the  mysterious  element  out  of 
selling,  there  is  a  tendency  now  to  test  selling  by  the  same 
standards  as  any  other  department  of  business — namely, 
engineering  standards.  This  tendency  has  limitations,  but 
as  a  tendency  it  is  unquestionably  a  wholesome  one,  there 
being  entirely  too  little  of  the  engineering  point  of  view  in 
average  salesmanagement. 

The  Winchester  Repeating  Arms  Co.,  for  instance,  gov- 
erns its  entire  plant  by  an  engineering  formula  which  it 
has  also  applied  to  the  selling  departments.  This  engineer- 
ing formula  is  one  of  five  divisions  or  processes : 

1.  Planning. 

2.  Preparation. 

3.  Scheduling. 

4.  Production. 

5.  Inspection. 

All  sales  work  is  routed  through  these  five  processes,  like 
any  and  every  other  work  of  the  business.     The  scope  of 
sales  work  is  also  divided  into  two  divisions : 
Sales  Engineering : 

Sales  research  and  investigation. 

Selection  of  new  products  and  styles. 

Standardization  of  products  and  styles. 

Planning  of  containers  and  methods  of  packing. 

Formulation  of  sales  policies. 

Determination  of  methods  and  program  of  distribution. 

338 


SALES  ENGINEERING  339 

Preparation  of  master  plan  of  advertising. 

Detailed  planning  and  execution  of  advertising. 

Preparation  of  catalogs  and  other  product  literature. 

Planning  and  installation  of  exhibits. 

Determination  of  sales  budget. 

Determination  of  master  sales  quotas  and  shipping 
schedules. 

Formulation  of  bonus  and  other  incentive  plans. 

Determination  of  selling  prices,  terms,  and  discounts. 

Preparation  of  selling  equipment. 

Preparation  of  procedures  to  standardize  programs, 
methods,  and  equipment. 

Planning  and  inspection  of  graphic  controls  of  sales 
operations. 
Sales  Productimi: 

Maintenance  and  supervision  of  sales  production  forces, 
field,  branches,  home  office. 

Maintenance  of  selling  equipment. 

Execution  of  distributing  program. 

Maintenance  of  selling  schedules  and  quotas. 

]\Iaintenance  of  exhibits,  supervision  of  shooting  cam^ 
paigns,  etc. 

Maintenance  of  gun  repair  service. 

Issuance  of  detailed  orders  and  schedules  for  mainte- 
nance of  stock  of  finished  goods. 

Planning  and  scheduling  of  shipments. 

Pricing  of  invoice  tickets. 

Maintenance  of  correspondence  and  service  work. 

Maintenance  of  credit  research  and  records;  follow-up 
collections. 

This  method  of  viewing,  selling  and  handling  sales  work 
is  essentially  sound,  because  it  is  a  mistaken  idea  to  think 
that  engineers  deal  with  exact  facts  and  that  salesmanagers 
deal  with  entirely  intangible  and  variable  factors.  Even 
the  engineering  profession  has  to  deal  with  intangible  fac- 


340  MODERN  SALESIMANAGEMENT 

tors,  including  the  human  factor,  and  the  progress  made  in 
testing,  measuring  and  judging  qualitative  as  well  as  quan- 
titative matters  by  laboratory  methods  makes  it  fairly  cer- 
tain that  much  is  still  widely  regarded  as  intangible  in 
selling  which  is  not  intangible  at  all,  but  can  be  much  more 
definitely  ascertained  than  is  realized,  by  means  of  modem 
methods. 

269.  Market  Investigations. — Information  is  absolutely 
vital  in  sales  planning.  It  is  just  as  surely  the  raw  ma- 
terial out  of  which  a  finished  sales  product  is  produced  as 
iron  is  a  raw  material  in  a  factory  making  hardware. 

The  reasons  why  market  investigations  and  method 
analyses  are  becoming  an  essential  part  of  the  successful 
conduct  of  business  are : 

1.  Increasing  complexity  of  distribution  channels. 

2.  Wider  national  markets. 

3.  Increasing  competition  and  smaller  margins  of  profit. 

4.  Increasing  intelligence  of  consumers  and  of  dealers. 

5.  Desire  for  more  accurate  data,  and  the  elimination 
of  guess-work  and  waste. 

6.  Greater  costliness  of  sales  work,  and  the  elimination 
of  many  thousands  of  dollars  of  waste  through  mistakes 
and  miscalculations. 

7.  Inability  to  control  market  nowadays  by  purely  ar- 
bitrary judgment,  policies  and  methods. 

Years  ago,  when  the  kind  of  goods  handled  by  a  business 
was  limited  strictly  to  merchandise  within  its  own  scope, 
it  was  comparatively  easy  to  determine  the  trade  outlets 
for  a  given  business. 

This  condition  no  longer  exists.  Haberdashers  sell 
jewelry.  Hardware  dealers  sell  electrical  goods  and  auto 
supplies.  Jewelers  sell  phonographic  goods,  porcelain 
ware,  etc.  Jobbers  enter  the  manufacturing  field  and  also 
maintain     retail     stores.    Manufacturers     start     "chain 


SALES  ENGINEERING  341 

stores."  Chain  stores  start  their  own  manufacturing 
l^lants. 

Therefore  trained  investigators  secure  data  in  person 
from  every  possible  factor  in  a  given  field,  from  consumers 
in  house-to-house  canvasses,  from  dealers  of  all  kinds,  from 
jobbers,  business  offices,  banks,  manufacturing  plants,  etc. 
Nothing  is  left  to  guesswork,  and  the  results  are  carefully 
analyzed  and  tabulated. 

270.  Analytical  Procedure  for  a  New  Article. — The  first 
thing  that  any  one  going  into  an  unfamiliar  business  to  him 
should  do,  is  to  secure  an  analysis  along  the  lines  suggested 
below ;  and  before  marketing  or  manufacturing  a  product, 
whether  a  specialty  or  a  staple,  an  analysis  should  be  made. 

The  best  kind  of  assurance  of  success  in  selling  is  to  have 
on  paper  the  facts  concerning  a  business,  its  plans,  its  diffi- 
culties and  its  possibilities.  The  "blue-printing  and  chart- 
ing" of  the  definite  program  of  action  is  also  fine  discipline 
and  stimulation.  The  following  are  the  lines  of  investiga- 
tion in  a  chronological  order  which  may  be  followed: 

1.  Technical  test  and  analysis  of  product. 

2.  Practice  test  on  200  to  2,500  typical  consumers. 

a.  Actual  tryout  by  consumers. 

b.  Tabulation  of  consumer  opinions  and  attitude,  by 
actual  canvass. 

3.  Analysis  of  consumption: 

a.  Present  consumption. 

b.  Present  manufacturing  and  selling  conditions  and 
success. 

c.  Present  competitive  status,  territorially. 

d.  Possible  consumption. 

e.  Study  of  distributive  channels  and  trade  sentiment 
(actual  canvass  of  dealers  throughout  the  country). 

4.  Trademark  analysis: 

a.  Construction  of  trademarks  to  secure  maximum  ad- 
vertising value  and  maximum  protection. 


342  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

b.  Search  of  mark  among  unregistered  as  well  as  regis- 
tered marks. 

c.  Layout  of  protective  records  and  plans  for  trade- 
mark conservation. 

d.  Coordination  of  trademark  plan  with  general  plans 
of  label,  package  and  all  possible  forms  of  publicity. 

5.  Analysis  of  price  and  profits: 

a.  Analysis  of  costs  on  basis  of  specific  first  volume  of 
manufacture. 

b.  Analysis  of  selling  costs. 

c.  Analysis  of  distributors'  profits. 

d.  Analysis  of  competitive  costs  and  profits. 

e.  Layout  of  price  policy  and  protection. 

f.  Study  of  "what  traffic  will  bear"  and  fixing  reason- 
able retailing  price. 

6.  Analysis  of  sales  and  advertising  situation : 

a.  Laj^out  of  staff  organization  necessary. 

b.  Study  of  alternative  methods  of  campaigning. 

c.  Stud}^  of  alternative  methods  of  advertising. 

d.  Investigation  of  parallel  and  competitive  sales  and 
advertising  methods  and  experience. 

e.  Study  of  probable  factors  of  resistance. 

f.  Layout  of  maximum  sales  points  and  arguments. 

g.  Standardization  of  sales  policy  and  position. 

h.  Study  of  trade  paper  advertising  efficiency  for  the 
proposition. 

i.  Study  of  consumer  advertising  mediums'  efficiency 
for  proposition. 

j.     Study  of  auxiliary  and  special  advertising  efficiency. 

7.  Financial  budget  of  estimated  expenses  and  returns : 

a.  Tabulation  of  complete  expense  balanced  against  re- 
turns from  90%  of  proposed  first  yearly  output:  (1)  per 
unit  of  material,  and  (2)  per  complete  yearly  volume. 

b.  Detail  of  manufacturing  expense. 

c.  Detail  of  sales  organization  expense. 


SALES  ENGINEERING  343 

d.  Detail  of  special  advertising  expense. 

6.  Detail  of  expected  volume  of  sales  and  basis  of  es- 
timation. 

f.  Detail  of  possible  lesser  and  greater  volumes  of 
sales,  with  accompanying  scales  of  graduated  costs  and  ex- 
pense. 

g.  Detail  of  administrative  financing  of  proposition. 
8.     Blue  printing  and  scheduling  of  plan  of  action: 

a.  Chronological  layout  for  factory  production  and  de- 
livery. 

b.  Chronological  layout  of  sales  organization  work. 

e.  Chronological  layout  of  mail  campaign  to  dealers. 

d.  Chronological  layout  of  trade  paper  advertising. 

e.  Chronological  layout  of  tryout  or  local  territorial 
advertising  work. 

f.  Chronological  layout  of  special  stunts. 

g.  Chronological  layout  of  general  development. 

271.  Why  Investigations  Should  Be  Made  by  Outsiders. — 
It  is  a  mistaken  habit  with  some  firms  to  utilize  their  own 
salesmen  or  executive  staff  to  conduct  investigations.  This 
is  inherently  wrong  in  principle,  like  an  accused  man  try- 
ing himself.  An  investigation  cannot  be  made  without 
bias  by  any  but  professional  outsiders,  first,  because  in- 
vestigation is  in  itself  a  technical  and  special  profession, 
and,  second,  because  employees  are  incapable  of  taking 
the  all-important  detached,  outside  point  of  view. 

More  particularly  is  it  the  mistaken  practice  of  many 
firms  to  utilize  salesmen  to  gather  field  information.  This 
is  unpractical  and  dangerous  for  the  following  reasons: 

1.  They  are  primarily  salesmen,  with  sales  work  to  do 
which  should  not  be  impeded  by  extra  work. 

2.  They  are  not  by  temperament  fitted  to  do  such  work 
and  do  not  like  it.  Investigation  work  does  not  mix  well 
with  sales  work;  and,  moreover,  salesmen  are  more  valu- 
able for  sales  work  than  any  other. 


344  IMODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

3.  They  are  sure  to  have  acquired  prejudices  in  favor 
of  their  own  firm  and  blindnesses  about  their  territory, 
and  therefore  render  biased  reports. 

4.  The  salesmen  reporting  upon  their  own  ■work  or 
checking  themselves  up,  will  render  reports  based  upon 
the  angle  from  which  thc}'  see  the  field. 

272.  Canvassing  and  Tabulating  Trade  Sentiment. — The- 
ory and  guesswork  in  the  past  have  been  the  principal 
means  used  to  make  changes  in  policies,  plans  and  methods. 
The  modern  practice  is  to  carefully  ascertain  in  advance 
the  attitude  of  a  fair  proportion  of  the  trade  on  these 
subjects. 

In  these  days  of  keen  competition  and  intensive  sales 
cultivation,  of  swift  national  action  through  advertising, 
of  the  quick  Day  Letter,  long  distance  telephone,  and  the 
parcel  post,  trade  sentiment  may  change  very  quickly.  It 
is  highly  essential  for  the  firm  that  wants  to  be  on  the 
alert  all  the  time  to  keep  in  touch  with  the  exact  status 
of  trade  sentiment  and  to  take  quick  notice  of  changing 
tendencies. 

Llany  firms  have  felt  confident  that  they  held  the  good- 
will of  dealers  and  other  factors  when,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
investigation  brought  to  light  a  very  considerable  amount 
of  dissatisfaction,  opposition  and  disturbing  conditions. 
One  of  the  facilities  of  modern  trade  investigation  is  the 
ability  to  measure  the  good-will  of  firms  with  the  trade  and 
to  tabulate  dealer  opinion  and  local  facts  for  a  represen- 
tative portion  of  the  entire  country,  all  at  low  cost. 

273.  Statistics  of  Distribution. — In  the  present  day  when 
the  class  of  goods  carried  by  retailers  is  changing,  it  is 
most  important  to  study  the  statistics  and  facts  of  dis- 
tribution. 

Investigation  can  show  which  type  of  dealers  is  the  best 
equipped  to  handle  the  goods,  or  how  distribution  can  be 
widened  along  new  lines   (such  as  inducing  haberdashery 


SALES  ENGINEERING  345 

to  sell  fountain  pens)  and  to  cooperate  with  the  firm  on 
any  particular  Hue  of  goods  or  policy.  Dealer  investiga- 
tions also  disclose  the  volume  of  purchases  of  the  various 
dealers,  the  kind  of  clientele  they  serve,  the  type  of  man- 
agement, the  personnel,  etc.,  and  can  establish  the  present 
and  possible  future  consumption  of  an  article. 

274.  Future  Consumptioii  Surveys. — Much  interest  is 
being  manifested  in  recent  years  in  thoroughgoing  surveys 
of  territory  to  establish  facts  and  figures  as  to  possible 
sales  in  each  small  unit  of  territory,  usually  by  counties. 
No  statistics  from  government  or  standard  sources  are 
available  and  the  only  way  to  get  such  data  is  to  hire 
professional  investigative  organizations  to  secure  it.  The 
work  of  getting  the  needed  facts  locally  and  of  making  the 
tabulations,  comparisons  and  estimates  is  only  possible  to 
do  in  a  reliable  manner  by  careful  professional  concerns 
organized  to  command  the  experience  and  skill  needed  in 
such  matters. 

Unless  such  figures  of  possible  consumption  are  obtained 
a  firm  is  working  more  or  less  in  the  dark.  It  does  not 
know  whether  the  territory  is  in  a  state  of  freshness  or 
whether  it  is  well  developed  or  whether  it  is  close  to  satu- 
ration. Nor  is  it  able  to  set  intelligent,  fair  quotas  bC' 
tween  one  territory  and  another,  or  make  adequate,  just 
comparisons  between  one  territory  and  another. 
I  It  is  unwise  to  be  skeptical  as  to  ability  to  secure  such 
detailed  possible  consumption  data,  for  it  is  a  matter  for 
expert  business  statisticians  and  investigators.  Also  it  is 
foolish  to  underestimate  the  money  value  of  such  a  survey. 
The  advisability  of  building  another  factory  or  of  choosing 
an  additional  line  of  goods,  or  of  making  expansions  may 
hinge  wholly  and  solely  on  the  findings  of  such  a  survey, 
and  though  the  cost  may  in  some  cases  run  into  many 
thousands  it  may  be  the  greatest  possible  economy.  To 
travel  into  the  future  without  the  guide  of  future  con- 


346  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

sumption  data  is  identically  like  traveling  into  a  strange 
new  country  without  map  or  compass. 

275.  General  Sales  Surveys. — A  new  type  of  survey  has 
become  recognized  as  of  importance  and  usefulness  within 
recent  j-ears — the  general  survey  by  a  trained  specialist 
and  counselor.  Such  a  survey  amounts  to  an  "audit"  of 
the  sales  organization,  plan  and  policy  by  an  outsider 
who  simply  spends  time  examining  it  in  the  same  cool, 
detached,  technically  trained  manner  with  which  an  expert 
accountant  examines  a  firm's  books.  The  principle  is 
identically  the  same.  It  is  a  process  of  certification,  also 
of  study  for  possible  improvement  and  valuation  by  those 
who  make  such  work  a  business.  No  one  doubts  the  ability 
of  a  firm's  accountants,  yet  it  is  sound  policy  to  have  ex- 
pert accounts  render  a  report  and  suggestions  in  the  light 
of  general  accounting  practice  and  principle. 

In  the  same  way  the  practices,  policies,  plans  and  or- 
ganization and  records  of  a  sales  organization  may  be 
reviewed,  certified  to  where  good,  and  noted  where  out  of 
alignment  with  the  best  experience  and  practice  in  other 
lines  and  general  business  fact  and  principle.  A  number 
of  concerns  now  make  this  an  annual  practice,  and  rarely 
fail  to  get  ten  times  the  value  of  the  fee  involved. 

276.  Checking  Sales  Work. — This  means  investigations 
conducted  among  dealers  to  show  whether  the  goods,  the 
ser^'ice  and  the  policy  of  the  house  have  been  properly 
presented  to  them  by  the  firm's  salesmen  or  by  the  sales- 
men of  the  jobbers ;  whether  the  salesmen  have  unduly  over- 
loaded the  dealers,  whether  they  have  been  getting  their 
full  percentage  of  the  dealers'  business,  and  if  not,  why  not. 

In  addition  to  the  above  factors,  there  are  a  number  of 
serious  underlying  business  conditions  of  which  many  firms 
complain,  or  know  to  exist,  and  yet  they  are  not  suffi- 
ciently alert  to  closely  investigate  in  order  to  determine 
the  underlying  causes,  although  by  doing  so  they  could 


SALES  ENGINEERING  347 

get  a  long  start  ahead  of  competitors.  The  man  in  an 
organization  whose  mind  grasps  underlying  factors  which, 
if  analyzed  and  acted  upon,  would  benefit  the  business,  is 
the  man  in  line  for  the  most  successful  future. 

277.  Analysis  of  Greneral  Basic  Factors. — Factors  of  broad 
general  importance  which  may  be  studied  by  securing  data 
through  investigation  are  the  following: 

1.  Number  of  manufacturers  versus  number  of  disi 
tributors. 

2.  Number  of  retail  outlets  versus  each  of  three  grades 
of  jobbers  and  wholesalers. 

3.  Number  of  manufacturing  workers  versus  general 
total  of  distributors. 

4.  Rate  of  increase  in  volume  of  trade  versus  increase 
in  distribution. 

5.  Fluctuations  of  retail  and  wholesale  profits. 

6.  Graphic  tabulation  of  length  of  time  present  jobbing 
firms  have  been  in  existence. 

7.  Volume  of  trade  contrasted  with  general  bank  clear- 
ings, building  activity  and  per  capita  wealth. 

8.  Number  of  retail  outlets,  also  number  of  jobbers,  to 
each  thousand  of  population. 

9.  Volume  of  trade  to  each  individual;  habits  of  con- 
sumers. 

10.  Urban  tendency  ratio  versus  volume  of  trade  ratio 
by  localities. 

11.  Sales  expense  and  net  profits  versus  rate  of  increase 
in  retail  outlets  and  jobbers. 

12.  Efficiency  of  call  percentage  of  salesmen. 

13.  Rates  of  increase  in  distribution  in  the  line  of  trade 
contrasted  with  the  increases  in  other  lines  of  trade. 

14.  Per  capita  consumption  of  the  line  of  goods  com. 
pared  with  other  lines  of  goods. 

15.  Capitalization  in  the  manufacturing  field  versus  vol- 
ume of  trade  and  ratio  distributors'  increase,  etc. 


CHAPTER  XXXII 

THE  STATISTICS  OF  SALESilANAGEMENT 

278.  The  Correct  Attitude  Toward  Statistics, — There  is 
frequently  found  among  salesmanagers,  especially  those 
who  have  graduated  from  the  position  of  salesmen,  a  dis- 
position to  make  light  of  statistics.  This  is  due,  of  course, 
to  the  fact  that  as  salesmen  they  required  qualities  almost 
the  exact  opposite  of  the  statistical  mind.  They  never 
dealt  with  symbols  or  figures,  they  dealt  in  visual  examples 
of  human  nature.  Therefore  as  salesmanagers  they  have 
an  imperfect  capacity  to  work  with  paper  symbols  and 
abstract  representations  of  fact;  they  have  a  prejudice 
against  statistics  and  are  often  fond  of  quoting  the  satirical 
phrase,  "lies,  damn  lies  and  statistics"  as  justification  for 
their  incapacity. 

There  is  no  more  fatal  error  than  this  for  any  sales- 
manager  who  aims  to  master  his  profession.  As  a  matter 
of  fact  the  profession  of  salesmanagement  is  dependent 
each  year  more  and  more  upon  statistics ;  salesmanagement 
without  statistics  is  sheer  blind  stumbling  in  the  dark. 

None  except  fanatics  are  in  love  with  figures  or  statis- 
tics, per  se.  Figures  are  merely  useful  tools  and  symbols 
of  actual  conditions  reduced  to  white  paper  for  convenient 
study.  The  idea  of  the  use  of  statistics  should  not  be 
blamed  for  mistakes  and  false  assumptions  from  erroneous 
statistics.  Statistics  are  only  as  good  as  the  makers  of 
them,  and  few  figures  are  100%  accurate.  It  is  an  ab- 
surdity to  expect  too  much  from  statistics,  but  a  still  greater 
and  more  dangerous  absurdity  is  to  presume  that  one  can 

348 


STATISTICS  OF  SALESMANAGEMENT       349 

do  without  them.  As  one  millionaire  business  man  said, 
"I  hate  figures  and  statistics,  but  I  never  will  take  a  step 
without  them."  Many  of  the  greatest  minds  in  business, 
such  as  Morgan  and  Harriman,  were  accountants  early  in 
their  careers  and  thus  acquired  a  trained  facility  in  secur- 
ing, understanding  and  acting  upon  statistics.  The  man 
who  "has  no  use  for  statistics,"  in  order  to  be  consistent, 
would  have  to  refrain  from  counting  the  change  he  gets 
when  presenting  a  sum  of  money  for  a  purchase.  He  is 
just  as  likely  to  get  short-changed  in  his  own  business  and 
his  larger  transactions  as  he  is  to  get  short-changed  in  a 
small  way  by  a  small  retailer.  It  is  a  necessary  part  of 
his  equipment  for  his  job  to  acquire  some  facility  at  statis- 
tics, for  even  though  he  hires  a  statistical  man,  he  usually 
can  afford  only  a  statistical  "hack" — a  man  who  will  get 
the  specific  thing  he  is  told  to  get,  whereas  the  need  usually 
is  for  creative  statistical  probing,  assisted  with  the  mer- 
chandising instinct.  No  hack  statistician  can  do  this  work ; 
chiefly  for  the  reason  that  the  routine  sources  of  statistics 
are  entirely  inadequate  for  the  purpose  for  which  statistics 
must  be  developed  with  which  to  feel  one's  way  forward 
in  conditions  which  cannot  be  seen  with  the  naked  eye. 
It  is  with  these  conditions  which  cannot  be  seen  with  the 
naked  eye  or  studied  by  means  of  the  usually  available 
statistics  with  which  the  salesmanager  must  deal.  Expen- 
ditures of  millions  of  dollars  ofttimes  depend  for  their  suc- 
cess upon  the  situation  as  disclosed  by  statistics,  and  it  is 
deadly  to  trust  merely  to  judgment,  however  good  and 
experienced. 

Statistics  are  actually  pictures  of  facts  and  photographs 
in  miniature  of  conditions.  The  correct  attitude  toward 
statistics  is  first  to  think  very  clearly  what  information  is 
vitally  necessary ;  then  exhaust  every  possible  effort,  and 
go  to  every  necessary  expense  commensurate  with  the  in- 
terests involved  to  secure  that  information  in  a  manner 


350  MODERN  SALESIHANAGEMENT 

that  will  be  statistically  clear,  and  whicli  will  make  a  de- 
pendable picture  of  the  factors  to  be  studied.  These  facts 
must  then  be  adequately  studied  and  a  judgment  rendered 
as  to  action  upon  them. 

Last,  but  not  least,  it  is  important  to  act  promptly  and 
immediately  upon  the  forming  of  decisions  from  statistics. 
It  w-as  a  prime  principle  of  Napoleon's  that  after  making 
exhaustive  investigations  of  his  enemy's  position  and  de- 
ciding upon  a  piece  of  strategy,  he  acted  swiftly  and  with 
lightning-like  rapidity,  in  order  that  the  conditions  which 
he  had  investigated  should  not  change  before  his  action, 
and  thus  require  another  investigation.  The  same  is  true 
of  statistics.  One  of  the  reasons  why  the  use  of  statistics 
has  in  some  minds  fallen  into  disrepute  and  contempt,  is 
that  there  are  too  many  instances  where  statistics  mountain 
high  in  quantity  were  compiled,  left  unassimilated  ajid 
undigested;  the  proper  judgment  and  lines  of  action  not 
being  made  and  carried  out,  based  upon  these  statistics. 
Not  statistics,  but  the  executive  use  or  misuse  of  statistics 
should  be  criticized. 

279.  The  Two  Main  Classes  of  Statistics. — It  will  be  a  big 
step  forward  in  the  understanding  of  statistics  to  realize 
that  there  are  two  main  broad  divisions  of  statistics: 

1.  Statistics  of  past  performance. 

2.  Statistics  of  possible  developments. 

Most  statistics  used  have  been  in  the  first  division,  the 
value  and  use  of  which  is  simple  and  obvious.  Far  too 
few  statistics  are  compiled  and  used  under  the  second  divi- 
sion. The  use  of  statistics  of  past  records  and  perform- 
ances are  backward  looks,  not  forward  looks,  and  have  no 
value  unless  they  can  be  used  to  base  future  operations 
upon.  As  one  business  man  remarked,  statistics  of  past 
records  and  performance  are  post  mortem  examinations, 
and  have  the  defect  that  the  thing  examined  is  dead  and 
gone.     As  highly  modern  accountants  readily  point  out, 


STATISTICS  OF  SALESMANAGEMENT       351 

even  records  of  past  performance  should  be  cast  in  such 
form  that  they  are  guides  for  the  future. 

The  sheer  difficulty  of  securing  and  compiling  statistics 
of  the  more  important  division,  that  of  analysis  of  future 
development  and  possibilities,  has  undoubtedly  prevented 
their  more  widespread  use.  It  is  easier  to  study  the 
anatomy  of  the  game  you  ha/ve  shot  than  to  work  out  the 
kind  of  game  you  are  going  to  shoot.  Unfortunately,  the 
Government  provides  much  too  little  data  which*  makes 
possible  general  marketing  statistics  for  study  of  future 
development,  and  it  must  be  accepted  as  an  unavoidable 
fact  that  such  statistics  cost  a  good  deal  of  money  to  de- 
velop and  compile.  Yet  they  are  now  recognized  as  the 
very  foundation  rocks  upon  which  business  development 
rests.  The  writer  was  recently  figuring  with  a  large  manu- 
facturer for  the  expenditure  of  $170,000  solely  for  the 
devebpment  of  statistics  of  possible  sales  of  that  product 
in  each  one  of  the  3,000  counties  of  the  United  States. 
This  sum  the  company  readily  admits  is  not  excessive  for 
the  information  (which  could  only  be  80%  accurate)  if  it 
gave  them  a  fair  conception  of  the  possibilities  of  each  local 
market,  so  that  a  fine-tooth  combing  process  might  be 
begun  in  an  intensive  sales  campaign  such  as  had  never 
before  been  attempted  in  that  industry.  This  work  of 
statistical  analysis  of  possible  markets  is  now  a  professional 
business  in  itself,  with  experts  and  national  investigative 
organizations. 

280.  Per  Capita  Consumption  Statistics. — At  the  very  base 
of  every  business  and  its  future  development  is  the  matter 
of  per  capita  and  average  consumption.  How  much  of 
your  goods  can  the  average  consumer  use ;  and  in  contrast 
with  this,  how  much  actually  does  the  consumer  now  use? 
Per  capita  consumption  of  course  means  total  annual  con- 
sumption divided  into  the  whole  population  of  the  country, 
men,  women  and  children.     It  must  not  be  confused  with 


a: 


< 

^ 

CO 

13 

< 

1 

»— 

a. 

u 

< 

J2 

o 

* 

cr 

UJ 

a. 

|ls 

8"S 



J!     C     Q. 

<3|<3 

|-a5 

If 

•S  c: 

, 

Si  -2 

«   "  -o 

IIS 

o  a. 

So 

a. 

Is 

■s"^ 

a: 

•"11 

.  t3 

z^ 

a  g 

o   5 

*~ 

^ 

5S  1 

^  JS   o 

^ 

§ 

i 

$ 

1 

ll 

^ 

1 

|2 

i 

! 

*J 

«c 

M 

5 

f 

^ 

c3 

c 

(^ 

C3 

C> 

g' 

o 

€=> 

Q. 

*~ 

O 

o 

"3 

e 

'"" 

~ 

CO 

""" 

" 

(Q 

s 

O 

■? 

% 

£ 

s 

£ 

£ 

a 

o 

£ 

£ 

^ 

C3 

C=3 

C=> 

C9 

n 

Si 

g 

'  s. 

g 

s 

g 

€=)' 

g" 

B 

,2 

*" 

" 

CM 

en 

*". 

•"1 

.    ^ 

u> 

is. 

ii^ 

s. 

g  s 

SoS-o 

c 

s'i^ 

0. 

I' 

■5 

o 

1- 

isS| 

£ 

u- 

s   s"- 

0. 

O 

CO 

UJ 

CO 

CO 

3 

10,000 

to 

25,000 

Pop. 

a! 

(n 

■=> 

o 

d: 

< 

__       ^ 

» 

> 
2 

5,00 

to 

10,00 

Pop 

£ 

O 
UJ 

nr 

< 

g               S      Q, 

c 

o 

^.s=.° 

£• 

1- 

?- 

jjj 

> 

\- 

cc 

^      o 

4ft 

o 

CO 

^.SS.£ 

1 

< 

?: 

UJ 

cu 

UJ 
C-J 

1,000 

<0 

2,000 

Pop. 

M 

C 

q: 

UJ 

> 

< 

S  fi  S  o 

s 

m-* 

£ 

iin 

s 

' 

STATISTICS  OF  SALESMANAGEMENT       353 

average  consumption,  which  means  only  consumption  by 
the  logical  consumers,  not  by  the  population  at  large.  It 
may  seem  foolish  to  work  out  the  per  capita  consumption 
of  let  us  say  office  desks,  but  all  consumption  of  whatever 
article  is  based  primarily  on  population,  because  the  most 
goods  tend  to  be  sold  where  there  are  the  most  people,  and 
the  first  obvious  measure  of  sales  is  according  to  units  of 
population.  The  more  accurate  measure  of  consumption, 
based  on  possible  users,  is  very  much  more  difficult  to 
obtain,  but  hardly  any  price  is  too  large  to  pay  to  get 
accurate  statistics  on  this  point,  because  it  permits  more 
just  and  clear  setting  of  sales  quotas. 

Every  article,  however,  which  is  at  all  widely  distributed 
even  though  not  an  article  of  universal  consumption,  can 
best  be  measured  in  sales  possibilities  by  the  per  capita 
measure;  enabling  one  to  rapidly  arrive  at  a  measure  of 
sales  for  any  community  of  given  population. 

The  closer  study  of  per  capita  figures  is  profitable  from 
various  points  of  view.  It  permits  comparison,  for  in- 
stance, with  foreign  countries.  Denmark,  although  a  daiiy 
country,  consumes  44  lbs.  per  capita  of  nut  margarine  (but- 
ter substitute),  whereas  the  United  States  consumes  but 
3^/2  lbs.  Most  other  European  countries  consume  2  or  3 
more  times  per  capita  than  the  United  States,  yet  the  total 
amount  consumed  by  the  United  States  because  of  its  huge 
population  is  larger  than  the  consumption  of  any  Euro- 
pean country.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  statistics  of  total 
volume  of  consumption  might  tend  to  mislead  in  making 
comparisons,  if  the  population  measure  were  not  applied 
through  the  per  capita  method. 

It  is  also  important  to  study  the  per  capita  consumption 
of  related  lines,  to  show  sales  possibilities  as  compared 
with  articles  of  a  similar  nature.  Per  capita  piano  sales' 
figures  are  interesting  not  only  to  player  piano  makers,  but 
also  to  all  sellers  of  luxuries,  for  of  course  all  piano  buyers 


354  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

are  to  a  certain  degree  luxury  buyers.  The  same  is  true 
of  automobile  per  capita  consumption.  In  fact,  general 
study  of  per  capita  expenditures  covering  a  variety  of 
items  is  very  suggestive  in  analyzing  fundamental  condi- 
tions. If  the  per  capita  expenditure  for  alcoholic  liquors 
was  $10.00  the  per  capita  sale  of  many  other  articles  will 
tend  to  rise  under  a  prohibition  regime.  If  the  per 
capita  consumption  of  soda  fountain  drinks  is  about  $8.00, 
it  appears  that  other  articles  of  taste  appeal  have  logical 
margin  for  development. 

By  means  of  a  logarithmic  chart  the  annual  increase  or 
decrease  in  per  capita  may  be  projected  forward  from  a 
period  of  past  years  to  a  period  of  future  years,  assuming 
the  continuation  of  the  broad  tendencies  shown  during  a 
period  of  years.  Thus  a  fairly  accurate  picture  may  be 
secured  of  the  future  rate  of  gi'owth  and  volume  of  busi- 
ness of  an  industry.  Competent  statisticians  who  are  more 
than  hack  workers  with,  figures  may  even  work  into  the 
chart  known  factors  which  are  expected  to  alter  the  future 
per  capita  consumption,  and  thus  merge  known  future  de- 
velopments with  the  past  tendencies,  and  get  even  closer 
to  an  accurate  prognostication  of  the  future.  The  pre- 
diction of  future  sales  by  expert  statistical  facilities  is  now 
an  important  part  of  many  businesses. 

281.  The  "Saturation  Point". — This  phrase  means  the 
reaching  of  the  full  amount  of  sales  that  the  population 
can  absorb.  It  is  a  peculiar  fact  that  many  industries 
after  a  period  of  difficulty  develop  a  demand  for  their 
article,  and  then,  this  demand  becoming  visible  to  others, 
new  concerns  flock  rather  blindly  into  the  field,  expecting 
also  to  enjoy  a  big  market.  But,  unfortunately,  this  de- 
mand may  have  very  definite  limitations  which  competent 
statistical  investigation  might  have  uncovered.  There  may 
be  no  sufficient  market  left  for  the  new  companies,  and 
the  usual  result  of  failure  or  absorption  occurs. 


STATISTICS  OF  SALESMANAGEMENT       355 

Then,  too,  a  firm  wliicli  is  not  aware  that  its  article  is 
rapidly  approaching  a  saturation  point,  may  suddenly  be 
caught  in  a  serious  situation  of  lack  of  preparation; 
whereas  statistical  research  might  have  demonstrated  the 
fact  in  plenty  of  time  to  lay  lines  of  new  development, 
either  for  manufacture  of  new  or  related  lines,  or  for  ex- 
panding the  uses,  scope  and  application  of  the  product, 
and  thus  put  off  the  coming  of  the  saturation  point.  This 
saturation  point  has  been  skillfully  avoided  in  the  auto- 
mobile field  by  the  reduction  of  average  price  of  automo- 
biles; each  new  decline  of  $50  opening  up  new  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  prospects.  Price  is  the  most  frequent 
arbiter  of  the  saturation  point  on  articles  of  high  cost ; 
but  in  others  it  depends  upon  the  number  of  people  who 
can  logically  use  the  article  to  advantage. 

Most  figures  on  markets  are  too  optimistic  (remember 
Col.  Starbottle's  eye  wash!)  and  there  is  too  naive  and 
inexperienced  use  of  statistics  by  the  rosy-eyed  inventors 
or  promoters.  The  possible  market  is  never  easy  to  de- 
termine, and  sometimes  it  can  be  demonstrated  that  a 
proposed  industry  could  manufacture  enough  of  the  article 
in  3  months  in  a  sizable  plant  to  supply  the  demand  for 
10  or  more  years  to  come.  It  is  of  importance  to  plan 
for  a  term  of  years  ahead,  and  not  on  a  basis  which  will 
ignore  the  possible  early  exhaustion  of  the  business  by 
saturation.  The  country's  population  is  not  growing  so 
rapidly  as  before  and  markets  are  not  so  "bottomless"  as 
once  they  were. 

Shrewd  bankers,  investors  and  others  study  industries 
not  by  what  has  been  done,  but  by  what  is  possible  to  do 
in  the  future,  realizing  that  it  is  an  old  and  favorite  argu- 
ment of  promoters  to  "lamb"  investors  that  the  Jones 
Co.  has  made  millions  in  the  past  ten  years,  therefore  the 
new  company  can  do  likewise !  The  parallel  in  such  easeS 
is   truly    deadly,    because    usually    statistically    unsound. 


356  MODERN  SALESIMANAGEMENT 

"What  a  company  has  done  in  the  past  cannot,  so  far  as 
sales  are  concerned,  be  even  a  moderately  sure  prediction 
of  the  future.  There  are  companies  which  the  writer 
knows  paying  now  and  for  a  long  time  past  a  great  deal 
of  money  in  dividends,  but  which  "insiders"  on  matters 
of  sales  development  know  are  doomed  to  bankruptcy  or 
complete  reorganization  within  a  couple  of  years — because 
of  market  changes  and  selling  factors. 

The  "saturation  point,"  it  is  quite  true,  has  not  in 
America  up  to  this  time  cut  much  of  a  figure  in  calcula- 
tions, because  most  markets  for  good  articles  have  grown 
almost  automatically  to  the  extent  of  at  least  10%  per 
year.  Creative  salesmanagement  cannot  logically  take 
credit,  in  many  industries,  for  growth  up  to  10%.  The 
saturation  point  has  on  this  account  been  sneered  at  as- 
a  "bogey,"  but  from  now  on  it  will  increase  as  a  factor 
of  consequence.  It  is  already  a  very  definite  factor  in 
foreign  countries,  and  the  huge  enlargements  of  factories 
for  war  production  have  brought  many  firms  in  the  United 
States  to  the  realization  that  the  ordinary  market  will  not 
be  big  enough  to  take  care  of  new  capacity  for  consump- 
tion. The  saturation  point  is  too  near;  new  plans  must 
be  made. 

Saturation  point  statistics  are  constantly  in  need  of  re- 
vision. Conditions,  wealth,  population,  and  other  factors 
change  the  situation  at  least  yearly,  and  figures  should 
be  revised  at  least  that  often. 

Also,  it  is  possible  to  postpone  the  saturation  point  by 
widening  the  usefulness  and  appeal  of  an  article.  It  is 
this  factor  (and  price)  which  saved  the  automobile  from 
reaching  the  saturation  point  years  ago.  The  economic 
usefulness  of  the  automobile  was  developed,  thus  making 
it  out  of  the  purely  "pleasure"  class  of  commodities. 

282.  The  Law  of  Averages. — The  next  best  thing  to  an 
absolute  fact  is  an  average.     Therefore  since  business  many 


STATISTICS  OF  SALESMANAGEMENT       357 

times  demands  action  where  absolute  facts  are  unobtain- 
able, the  average  is  the  one  safe  guide.  Many  great  busi- 
nesses are  built  up  entirely  on  averages.  In  the  insur- 
ance business  the  law  of  averages  is  supreme.  Millions  of 
dollars  are  calmly  "wagered"  on  the  inexorable  sameness 
of  operation  of  this  law  of  averages.  Eight  people  will 
die  by  accident  out  of  every  100  just  as  surely  as  the  sun 
rises.  A  certain  set  number  of  people  out  of  1,000  will 
commit  suicide,  no  matter  whether  it  is  in  San  Francisco 
or  in  Boston. 

"What  is  a  safe  number  on  which  to  base  averages,  is  the 
question  often  disputed  over.  Averages  are  possible  to 
apply  to  almost  any  matter  of  salesmanagement,  however 
difficult  it  may  at  first  seem.  Even  the  matter  of  testing 
out  the  strength  of  appeal  of  a  given  sales  argument  may 
be  done  by  means  of  averages.  A  group  of  people  repre- 
senting average  prospects  may  be  tested  under  carefully 
controlled  conditions,  and  a  "correlation"  to  actual  results 
of  at  least  65%  secured.  This  close  an  approximation  to 
actual  results  is  thoroughly  worth  while  and  may  save  a 
considerable  amount  of  money. 

The  principles  to  be  applied  in  obtaining  an  average  in 
a  test  are  ( 1 )  taking  pains  that  the  conditions  surrounding 
the  units  to  be  tested  for  an  average  are  thoroughly  repre- 
sentative of  the  whole;  (2)  taking  pains  that  the  judgment 
or  test  results  secured  are  not  in  any  way  swerved  from 
true  by  any  circumstances  of  the  test. 

If  the  conditions  can  be  controlled  so  that  the  test  units 
are  from  90%  to  100%  representative  in  all  particulars, 
it  is  possible  to  make  a  test  upon  only  25  units  that  will 
correlate  with  actual  results  to  the  degree  of  70%  or  more. 
To  the  extent  that  the  units  for  test  are  not  representative, 
the  number  of  units  selected  for  test  must  be  increased. 
Therefore  tests  upon  100  units  under  ordinary  circum- 
stances may  be  depended  upon  to  achieve  from  50%  to 


358  :modern  salesmanagement 

60%   correlation;  while  1000  units  will  correlate  nearly 
90% — even  more  if  the  utmost  scientific  care  is  exercised. 

283.  Scope  of  Use  of  Averages. — As  a  rule,  far  too  little 
use  is  made  in  salesmanagement  problems  of  the  matter 
of  averages.  It  is  very  rarely  that  tests  are  made,  for 
instance,  on  pieces  of  advertising  matter,  which  require 
the  expenditure  of  many  thousands  of  dollars.  Yet  no 
single  item  of  sales  expenditure  is  so  dependent  upon  sheer 
judgment  of  a  probable  response,  or  so  much  of  a  gamble. 
The  chance  element  can  be  greatly  reduced  by  the  use  of 
intelligently  conducted  tests  by  means  of  averages. 

Averages  may  be  used  for  any  other  individual  item  of 
sales  statistics — number  of  calls  made  per  day,  week  and 
month;  average  of  towns  called  upon,  towns  missed;  aver- 
age amount  of  order,  average  of  orders  which  have  this  or 
that  peculiarity.  All  these  average  facts,  if  ascertained 
promptly  and  correctly,  are  of  the  most  vital  use  in  sales- 
management.  The  development  of  the  electric  tabulating 
machine  has  made  possible  much  further  and  detailed  use 
of  averages,  since  the  punched-card  plan  enables  statisties 
to  be  obtained  from  any  angle,  and  averages  computed. 
By  means  of  this  device  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  can  tell  to- 
morrow morning  what  percentage  of  to-day's  sales  were 
sent  C.O.D.,  or  by  express,  or  what  percentage  were  orders 
below  $10  or  over  $100,  etc. 

It  is  bound  to  be  a  development  in  future  salesmanage- 
ment that  many  more  of  the  minutest  details  of  both  past 
and  possible  business  matters  will  be  ascertained  and 
studied  in  the  light  of  averages. 

284.  The  Psychology  of  Statistics. — Some  of  the  distrust 
and  indifference  to  statistics  found  among  some  business 
men  arises  from  the  instinctive  realization  that  the  human 
nature  factors  behind  statistics  are  more  expressive,  sig- 
nificant and  interesting  than  the  statistics  themselves.  Of 
course  this  is  true,  and  only  a  hack  statistician  ignores 


STATISTICS  OF  SALESMANAGEMENT       359 

the  psychology  behind  the  statistics.  He  merely  uses  the 
figures  as  convenient  pen  strokes  to  enumerate  the  much 
more  significant  conditions  which  the  numerals  represent. 
Figures  are  mere  ' '  counts  of  noses ' ' ;  they  are  merely  one 
of  the  tools  in  the  more  important  task  of  securing  a  com- 
plete, true  picture.  The  real  task  is  to  study  the  picture 
as  a  whole,  but  this  can  only  be  done  systematically  by 
enumerating  such  factors  as  can  be  counted.  Only  by 
enumerating  do  we  convey  the  measure  of  any  factor,  every 
other  method  of  conveying  a  picture  being  too  blurred. 
A  newspaper  reporter  who  cannot  enumerate  in  his  obser- 
vations and  descriptions  is  an  unfit  reporter.  But  he 
must  also  be  able  to  give  the  emotions,  the  atmosphere, 
the  more  volatile  and  difficult  parts  of  the  picture  if  he  is 
a  good  reporter. 

So  in  studying  statistics;  they  must  be  regarded  as  ayie 
way,  the  numerical  way,  of  understanding  a  situation.  To 
say  that  the  average  income  of  the  farmer  is  $4:00  a  year 
is  not  a  true  picture  of  farm  conditions,  though  technically 
the  statistic  may  be  connect.  The  farmer  feeds  himself  and 
his  help  and  is  free  from  much  of  the  expense  of  the  city  or 
town  individual.  His  real  income  is  much  greater.  The 
trained  student  of  facts  will  get  behind  the  statistics  to 
test  the  auxiliary  situation,  as  illustrated  in  this  case. 

The  statistics  of  the  income  tax  indicate  that  there  are 
less  than  500,000  people  with  incomes  over  $3,000.  This  is 
of  course  a  very  incorrect  picture  of  the  income  situation 
in  the  United  States.  There  are  a  great  many  tax  dodgers 
in  the  lower  end  of  the  income  tax  scale ;  also  many  exemp- 
tions and  special  eliminations.  The  number  of  people  of 
incomes  of  $3000  and  over  is  more  nearly  850,000,  possibly 
over  a  million. 

It  is  clear  from  the  above  instances  that  the  routine 
standard  statistics  very  often  do  not  mean  what  they  ap- 
pear to  say.    Only  a  tyro  in  the  use  of  statistics  thinks  so; 


360  MODERN  SALESIVIANAGEMENT 

and  in  business  the  man  who  looks  behind  statistics  is  the 
man  who  gains  the  advantage  of  clearer  insight  into  true 
conditions.  The  skilled  students  of  market  conditions  are 
especially  deft  in  interpreting  the  psychological  meaning 
of  statistics.  They  know  the  key  facts  which  are  alarm 
bells  for  other  conditions  of  importance.  For  instance, 
there  are  sections  of  the  United  States  where  48  hours  con- 
tinuous rain  means  a  greatly  reduced  volume  of  crops,  with 
consequent  results,  months  later,  of  increase  in  retail  fail- 
ures, decreased  volume  of  retail  trade  and  other  conse- 
quences not  apparently  related  to  rain.  The  increase  or 
decrease  to  a  certain  extent  of  world  supply  in  certain 
commodities  means,  a  year  later,  certain  definite  condi- 
tion of  trade. 

Statistics  are  valuable  only  for  what  you  read  out  of 
them,  and  it  requires  a  great  deal  of  special  knowledge  to 
interpret  statistics  accurately.  Each  type  of  statistics  on 
each  subject  has  an  alphabet  of  meaning  of  its  own,  which 
speaks  the  valuable  messages  they  can  carrj^  only  when 
that  alphabet  has  been  mastered.  It  is  often  supposed 
that  people  using  statistics  have  no  imagination;  whereas 
the  opposite  is  true;  only  those  with  excellent,  trained 
imagination  can  get  the  most  out  of  the  use  of  statistics. 

285.  The  Law  of  Diminishing  Returns. — This  principle  is 
often  cited  or  used  erroneously,  and  is  not  always  appli- 
cable to  the  matters  it  is  supposed  to  control.  In  other 
words,  while  a  well-defined  rule  of  mathematics,  it  is  not 
always  correct  to  apply  it. 

Briefly,  the  law  of  diminishing  returns  is  the  eco- 
nomic principle  that  there  is  a  point  at  which  increased 
effort  produces  diminished  returns.  Beyond  a  fixed  point 
increased  expenditure  for  selling  or  advertising  does  not 
produce  the  same  proportional  increase  of  return.  The 
ratio  of  return  to  expense  falls  after  a  certain  point  is 
reached.     This   point  needs  careful  thought  by  a  sal^- 


STATISTICS  OF  SALESMANAGEMENT       361 

manager,  as  it  directly  affects  results  of  all  kinds.  An 
increase  of  number  of  salesmen  in  a  territory  brings  mathe- 
matical increase  in  results  up  to  a  certain  point,  which 
point  bears  no  relation  to  possible  trade  statistics.  Some- 
thing is  always  lost  in  increasing  mass  effort;  a  principle 
which  is  well  illustrated  by  the  experience  of  large  and 
small  business  houses.  There  is  a  point  at  which  the  mere 
size  of  a  business  house  diminishes  its  efficiency.  This 
point  is  of  course  constantly  being  put  further  away  by 
brains  and  organizing  genius,  in  individual  instances,  but 
the  principle  is  operative  in  all  cases.  The  great  English 
economist,  Hobson,  actually  set  a  figure  of  capitalization 
and  volume  at  which  the  diminishing  tendency  began. 

The  principle  of  diminishing  returns  must  be  used  as  a 
brake  upon  statistical  calculation  of  too  optimistic  and  too 
easily  calculated  ratios  of  profits  and  sales,  to  both  of 
which  factors  the  principle  especially  applies. 

286,  Analogy  and  Statistics. — It  is  a  very  narrow  con- 
ception of  statistics  to  confine  the  study  of  them  to 
the  thing  in  hand.  One  of  the  great  uses  of  statistics  is 
to  study  correlative  factors  and  conditions  as  a  means  of 
suggesting  or  illuminating  the  subject  in  hand.  In  study- 
ing the  statistical  possibilities  of  automobile  sales  in  the 
United  States,  for  instance,  it  is  valuable  to  study  general 
statistics  of  wealth,  of  purchase  of  pianos,  rugs  and  other 
luxuries,  of  living  standards  and  habits,  and  many  other 
factors. 

Many  of  the  most  brilliant  conclusions  in  business  or 
elsewhere  are  arrived  at  by  the  use  of  reasoning  by  analogy 
— by  reasoning  from  one  premise  to  another;  if  x  equals 
y,  then  y  equals  q;  or  even  by  further  algebraic  or  geo- 
metric processes.  It  is  also  true  that  the  Euclidean  process 
of  reasoning  by  elimination  is  valuable,  in  working  from 
statistics. 

Facts  which  at  first  glance  do  not  have  significance  or 


362  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

any  conceivable  relation  to  a  problem,  often  have  a  very 
direct  relation  when  connected  by  analogous  logic.  Every- 
thing is  relative,  and  all  things  merge  into  each  other  in  a 
manner  which  makes  possible  an  approach  to  a  problem 
through  many  different  avenues  of  search.  The  statistics 
of  birth  may  possibly  bear  a  relation  to  the  sale  of  furni- 
ture— only  by  the  use  of  statistical  imagination  and  reason- 
ing by  analogy  can  it  be  determined.  Many  great  business 
successes  have  been  built  on  reasoning  by  analogy;  statis- 
tics concerning  one  matter  have  suggested  possibilities  of  a 
totally  different  kind.  The  high  rate  of  consumption  of 
sugar  per  capita  in  the  United  States  may  have  interest  to 
the  seller  of  a  remedy  for  diabetes;  the  statistics  of  im- 
proved roads  by  states  may  provide  the  index  to  the  char- 
acter of  the  people  there  and  be  of  interest  to  sellers  of 
luxuries  to  farmers,  as  might  also  the  statistics  of  school 
expenditure  per  capita.  The  number  of  people  having 
insurance  policies  may  interest  a  variety  of  people  not  in 
the  insurance  business ;  also  the  number  of  people  who  are 
shareholders  in  corporations. 

The  man  who  makes  statistics  work  for  him  regards  all 
types  of  statistics  as  interesting  sign  posts.  It  is  naive  and 
narrow  to  be  interested  only  in  immediate  facts  about  your 
own  business.  Schwab  could  not  have  made  his  famous 
and  fulfilled  prediction  of  the  great  expansion  of  the  steel 
business  without  reasoning  by  analogy  from  statistics  which 
apparently  had  no  relation  to  the  steel  business.  Nor 
could  James  J.  Hill  have  anticipated  the  great  develop- 
ment of  the  Northwest  without  the  same  method, 

287.  The  Law  of  Statistical  Regularity. — The  superb  use- 
fulness of  statistics  in  sales  work  is  exemplified  in  the  law 
of  statistical  regularity,  which  enables  one  even  to  throw 
dice  and  foretell  the  average  result.  Four  dice  have  a 
total  number  of  spots  on  both  sides  of  28.  On  the  average, 
14  should  turn  up  each  time.     In  50  throws  the  total  num- 


STATISTICS  OF  SALESMANAGEMENT       363 

ber  of  spots  turned  up  should  be  700.  This  will  vary  very 
little  in  any  experiment — and  proves  that  statistical  analy- 
sis may  be  applied  successfully  even  to  matters  thought  to 
be  pure  chance. 

Business  need  be  in  no  sense  a  gamble  to  the  man  willing 
to  use  the  science  of  statistical  regularity.  He  can  even 
regulate  the  degree  of  accuracy  in  analysis  to  the  degree  of 
importance  of  his  problem,  simply  by  spending  enough 
money,  time  and  brains  on  the  work  of  diminishing  the 
probability  of  error.  The  number  of  statistical  units  ex- 
amined and  studied  may  be  increased  from  25  (the  lowest 
safe  number  to  study)  to  hundreds  and  thousands  and  thus 
achieve  close  to  100%  accuracy. 

Through  the  law  of  statistical  regularity  an  analytical 
salesmanager  may  feel  his  way  to  very  important  results 
without  more  than  a  small  degree  of  risk.  He  may  not 
need,  or  may  not  be  able  to  afford,  100%  accuracy,  but  the 
most  modest  application  of  the  law  of  statistical  regularity 
will  be  very  much  more  accurate  than  merely  judgment 
alone.  A  salesmanager  rises  to  the  highest  plane  in  his 
profession  when  he  develops  humility  before  facts,  and  be- 
comes diligent  in  search  of  facts.  Once  having  discovered 
the  superiority  of  permitting  actual  conditions  to  register 
themselves  for  his  benefit  through  the  law  of  statistical 
regularity,  he  will  never  return  to  "armchair  guesswork'^ 
or  "mahogany  table  vanity  of  opinion." 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 

IMAGINATION  AND  VISION 

288.  Feeling  Out  the  Future. — In  no  other  phase  of  busi- 
ness is  there  greater  need  for  every  instinct^  imagination 
and  vision  as  in  the  salesmanagement  of  a  firm  which 
is  aiming  to  move  forward.  The  qualities  of  mind  and 
feeling  called  into  play  are  equal  in  every  sense  to  the  best 
creative  brains  called  for  by  any  great  art;  for  as  in  any 
art,  new  things  must  be  anticipated  and  created,  the 
progress  of  humanity  must  be  judged,  foreseen,  influenced 
and  moved.  New  conceptions  of  devices  of  distribution 
and  wonders  of  organization  must  be  made  into  a  reality. 
It  is  a  far  greater  tax  upon  ingenuity  to  distribute  goods 
successfully  than  to  invent  new  goods. 

The  chief  sales  executive — whether  a  president,  vice 
president,  marketing  manager  or  whatever  his  title — will 
do  well  to  give  himself  plenty  of  leisure  and  freedom  from 
detail,  and  plenty  of  counsel  of  a  high  creative  order,  so 
that  the  best  creative  brains  may  be  focused  upon  the 
great  major  problems  and  opportunities  in  that  business. 
Salesmanagement  to-day,  unlike  former  times,  dominates 
the  entire  business  and  to  a  large  extent  dictates  what  the 
factor}^  shall  make.  Therefore,  since  all  the  departments 
of  business  rely  upon  the  salesmanagement  for  their  in- 
struction and  planning,  the  salesmanagement  must  be 
years  ahead  of  time  in  development  planning.  It  must  use 
every  tool,  research,  invention  and  investigation — but  in 
addition  must  apply  imagination  and  vision  in  generous 
measure  if  it  would  keep  ahead  of  the  march  of  time. 

364 


IMAGINATION  AND  VISION  365 

289.  Unforeseen  Developments. — ^Vou  Moltke,  the  great 
German  chief  of  staff,  said  that  no  one  strategical  plan 
siirvives  in  detail  the  first  encounter  with  the  enemy.  The 
most  carefully  and  minutely  planned  campaign  is  apt  to 
fail  through  the  effects  of  unforeseen  conditions.  The 
great  war  has  tragically  verified  this.  The  same  principles 
apply  in  business  planning  and  campaigning. 

For  this  reason  strategic  planning  of  an  advance  sort  ia 
necessary,  along  lines  such  as  the  shaping  of  reserve  plans 
to  meet  as  many  possible  serious  contingencies  as  can  be 
imagined. 

The  Prest-o-Lite  manufacturers  could  hardly  be  expected 
to  have  foreseen  the  popularity  of  electric  lighting  systema 
for  automobiles  which  made  su.ch  serious  inroads  on  their 
gas  lighting  sales.  The  bicycle  and  roller-skate  manufac^ 
turers  could  hardly  have  been  expected  to  anticipate  tha 
rapid  decline  of  these  popular  crazes.  Therefore  some- 
thing to  meet  their  sudden  situation  was  especially  impor^ 
tant,  for  it  shows  that  few  are  immune  from  change. 

290.  Reserve  Resources. — Business  is  in  effect  practicall}' 
an  economic  warfare  full  of  surprises  and  cruel  blows. 
This  compels  the  making  of  plans  for  many  contingencies ; 
also  the  modification  of  all  plans  and  expenditures  in  the 
light  of  future  uncertainty.  The  manufacturer  who  en- 
thusiastically builds  new  factories  when  orders  come  piling 
in  may  be  sacrificing  all  his  profit,  for  by  the  time  his 
factory  is  built  the  demand  may  simmer  down  and  all 
efforts  fail  to  again  bring  it  back  to  where  it  was.  This 
has  been  amply  ilhistrated  by  war  order  manufacturers. 
The  situation  calls  for: 

1.  Advance  knowledge  of  basic  tendencies,  and  plans 
to  meet  or  take  advantage  of  them. 

2.  Organization  drilling  to  insure  capacity  to  meet  com- 
ing requirements  or  emergencies. 


366  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

3.  Understudying  of  all  important  officers  and  em- 
ployees. 

4.  Cheek  up  methods  to  insure  against  defraud  by  em- 
ployees or  undermining  by  business  enemies. 

5.  Constant  inspection  of  sources  of  information  and 
advice  to  insure  that  they  are  not  misleading. 

6.  Frequent  strategical  trials  of  strength  both  of  the 
firm  and  of  employees  along  extra  difficult  lines  in  order  to 
demonstrate  capacity,  fitness  and  initiative. 

7.  Constant  trying  out  of  new  ideas,  methods  and  plan§ 
to  make  sure  that  no  unusually  lucrative  one  is  missed. 

8.  Constant  pre-emption  of  ideas,  methods,  patents,  etc., 
which  might  be  of  any  service  to  competitors. 

9.  Guard  against  weaknesses;  make  the  most  exclusive 
and  strong  points  and  study  the  proper  time  and  methods 
for  offensive  and  defensive  campaigning. 

10.  Constant  hard  work  by  the  best  minds  that  can  be 
employed  upon  the  difficult  problems  of  the  business — so 
that  the  benefits  of  solution  of  them  will  be  secured  before 
others  secure  them. 

11.  Unsparing  efforts  to  get  the  ablest  men  in  your 
line  of  business  to  work  for  you,  in  full  appreciation  that 
the  human  factor  is  one  of  the  greatest  assets  in  your  busi- 
ness to-day. 

12.  Regular  personal  analysis  and  drill  to  prevent  ruts 
from  being  formed  in  one's  mind  and  thus  being  made 
antagonistic  to  change  and  development. 

291.  Watching"  Formative  Periods. — Consensus  of  busi- 
ness experience  shows  that  all  lively  new  businesses  usually 
have  much  the  same  history.  They  struggle  with  varying 
degrees  of  success  for  two  to  seven  years  in  a  formative  or 
experimental  period,  from  which  time  they  begin  to  shoot 
upward  with  speed,  reaching  a  high  peak  in  a  year  or  two 
later,  but  going  down  almost  as  rapidly  until  a  level  half 
way  or  less  between  the  low  and  high  points  is  reached. 


IMAGINATION  AND  VISION  367 

Wise  strategical  planning  in  business,  in  view  of  this 
universal  experience,  consists  of  laying  plans  to  derive  as 
much  "cream"  out  of  the  high  peak  period  as  possible 
and  endeavoring  to  prolong  it  as  far  as  possible.  It  is 
fatal  to  misuse  the  profit  of  the  peak  period,  or  to  look 
for  a  continuation  of  the  peak.  A  few  businesses  of  a 
staid  and  staple  character  never  reach  any  peak,  but  have 
a  definite  cumulative  effect  which  is  the  thing  to  be  most 
carefully  guarded  and  developed  with  strategic  planning. 

It  means  everything  to  the  future  of  the  business  that 
those  running  it  know  their  bearings  and  are  able  to  see 
the  general  direction  in  which  they  are  going,  and  steer 
for  strategic  advantage.  This  requires  close  attention  to 
the  advanced  strategical  points  herein  outlined. 

292.  The  Great  Power  of  Ideas. — There  is  no  quality  so 
valuable  in  business  as  ingenuity  and  origination,  simply 
because  there  is  no  difficulty  so  hard  t]i(\t  it  cannot  be  over- 
come hy  an  idea.  An  idea  is  the  most  tremendous  explosive 
known  in  modem  business  "warfare."  All  splendid  busi- 
ness achievements  and  victories  were  ideas  before  they 
were  made  realities.  Most  great  difficulties  are  solved  by 
the  application  of  ideas,  developed  under  pressure  or  the 
incentive  of  big  gain  or  big  fees  or  big  honors. 

It  has  heeii  repeatedly  proven  that  the  more  able  the 
husiness  executive,  the  more  exclusively  he  devotes  himself 
to  ynatters  requiring  imagination  and  visiom,.  All  other 
work  is  administrative  detail,  as  it  deals  with  the  things 
that  are  routine  or  are  the  detailed  outcome  of  policies 
based  on  such  vision.  The  executive  whose  mind  cannot 
think  in  terms  of  higher  strategy  may  therefore  know  that 
he  still  requires  "postgraduate"  business  training  before 
being  able  to  class  himself  as  a  first-grade  executive  with 
a  future  before  him. 

293.  laying  Protective  lines. — A  nation  needs  to  protect 
itself  against  attack.     So  must  a  bu.siness.     It  must  also 


368  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

protect  itself  against  changed  conditions  and  internal 
dangers.  Therefore,  the  factors  against  which  a  well- 
planned  business  must  guard  may  be  thus  classified: 

1.  "Weakness  from  within ;  mistakes  in  organization 
and  management;  nepotism,  favoritism,  contentment,  po- 
litical intrigue. 

2.  Changing  tendencies  of  the  consuming  public  or  the 
trade. 

3.  Competition  and  economic  and  inventive  develop- 
ments. 

The  greatest  basic  danger  to  an  existing  business  is 
probably  blindness  to  changing  tendencies  on  the  part  of 
the  buying  public,  either  through  a  change  of  taste  (styles, 
fads)  or  through  changing  methods  of  living. 

An  example  of  havoc  played  by  fads  is  the  bicycle  in- 
dustry. The  decline  of  cycling  as  a  public  recreation 
ruined  many  industries  and  retail  establishments.  Only 
the  far-seeing  ones  among  them  changed  over  in  time  to 
automobile  and  other  lines  of  manufacture. 

As  to  styles,  the  failure  of  a  million  dollar  petticoat 
manufacturer,  because  petticoats  went  out  of  fashion, 
shows  the  fate  of  the  firm  that  does  not  keep  "an  ear  to 
the  ground"  all  the  time,  or  that  does  not  plan  auxiliary 
business  to  which  they  can  turn  in  case  of  sudden  change. 
For  instance,  every  business  dependent  on  frequently 
changing  style  should  also  have  some  department  that 
makes  or  deals  in  staples,  if  possible. 

A  firm  making  jet  trimmings  for  women's  wear,  for 
instance,  has  its  machines  so  adjusted  that  they  can  be 
quickly  switched  to  other  styles,  the  popularity  of  which 
is  sensed  in  time. 

It  is  essential,  in  this  rapidly  moving  civilization,  to 
watch  changes  in  habit  and  method  of  living.  For  exam- 
ple, the  growth  of  electric  and  gas  companies  in  many 
wiall   communities  has  made  serious  in-roads   upon  the 


IMAGINATION  AND  VISION  369 

stove  industry,  bringing  some  firms  close  to  the  verge  of 
failure.  Some  of  tliem  have  averted  disaster  by  making 
combination  stoves  for  burning  coal  or  gas ;  some  by  mak- 
ing electric  utensils. 

Changing  laws  must  be  taken  into  consideration  here. 
The  preferential  parcel  post  rate  with  its  zone  system,  the 
advent  of  low-priced  automobiles,  electric  cars,  jitneys,  etc., 
are  gradually  driving  the  trade  of  the  residents  of  small 
communities  to  the  retailers  of  the  larger  center  of  the 
section.  This  means  important  changes  in  stocking  up  the 
stores  in  the  small  towns  and  in  the  newly  stimulated  trad- 
ing centers. 

Investigation  shows  that  practically  every  business  is 
sooner  or  later  affected  by  changing  conditions,  and  in  a 
large  number  of  cases  it  has  been  found  that  lack  of  under- 
standing of  these  conditions,  or  neglect  to  lay  protective 
lines  to  meet  them,  has  been  a  great  factor  in  preventing 
or  limiting  a  successful  business.  Economic  study  and 
thought  are  an  absolute  essential  to  the  business  man  of 
imagination  and  vision  to-day. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV 

THE  STORY  OF  AN  ACTUAL  SELLING  CAMPAIGN 

294.  Reason  for  Describing  an  Actual  Campaign,  and  for 
Selecting  This  One. — It  is  a  fault  of  books  that  they  provide 
the  generality  of  a  subject  but  neglect  the  particular.  It 
is  far  simpler  to  learn  by  picture  than  by  abstract  concept ; 
therefore,  to  visualize  an  instance  of  a  modern  sales  cam- 
paign based  on  sound,  up-to-date  principle  and  procedure, 
is  in  itself  a  liberal  education  in  salesmanagement. 

A  sales  campaign  is  in  a  sense  a  battle,  and  as  in  mili- 
tary matters,  it  is  far  more  interesting  and  instructive  to 
read  an  account  of  a  battle  than  to  study  the  principles  of 
war. 

As  for  the  selection  of  this  particular  campaign,  there 
is  no  reason  except  that  it  was  an  unusually  well  analyzed 
campaign,  methodically  carried  out  and  successful  in  con- 
clusion. It  is  frankly  and  freely  described,  and  is  full  of 
details  of  ingenuity  and  progressive  principle  and  policy. 
There  are,  of  course,  many  other  campaigns  quite  as  in- 
teresting or  more  so,  but  this  one  happens  to  be  more 
available  than  others.  The  story  is  printed  in  the  words 
of  Marquis  Eegan,  Sales  Promotion  Manager  for  the  Ever 
Read}^  Works  of  the  National  Carbon  Co.,  whose  campaign 
it  was.  The  personal  narrative  form  is  permitted  in  order 
to  add  to  its  vividness.  Mr.  Eegan  told  the  story  orig- 
inally before  the  Salesmanagers'  Club  of  New  York. 

295.  The  Strategic  Situation  Before  the  Campaign  Started. 
— The  Ever  Ready  organization  had  for  nearly  twenty 

370 


STORY  OF  ACTUAL  SELLING  CAMPAIGN     371 

years  been  making  an  electric  flashlight.  It  had  other  elec- 
trical products,  but  its  advertising  and  sales  policies  were 
built  around  this  flashlight  product.  The  name  Ever  Ready- 
is  one  that  is  used  by  a  multitude  of  other  concerns  for 
different  products.  So  its  significance  was  confused  in  the 
minds  of  dealer  and  consumer.  The  dealer  was  likely  to  say 
to  the  consumer  presenting  our  card:  ''No,  I  don't  want 
any  safety  razors  to-day. ' ' 

In  1916  we  had  some  five  hundred  distributors  on  our 
books.  There  were  wholesale  jobbers,  selected  according  to 
their  ability  and  willingness  to  make  a  success  of  an  elec- 
trical product  such  as  ours.  We  do  not  appoint  distrib- 
utors broadcast,  or  recognize  all  jobbers  as  distributors. 
Orders  taken  by  our  own  men  are  credited  to  the  dis- 
tributor preferred  by  the  dealers.  We  had  an  organi- 
zation of  some  fifty  men  calling  on  retail  dealers  anc^ 
twenty-five  calling  on  the  wholesale  distributors. 

It  was  important,  therefore,  that  we  should  get  out  of 
the  confusion  caused  by  a  name  too  common  to  be  de- 
structive for  our  vital  leading  product.  We  knew  that 
we  must  quickly  find  the  right  name  and  quickly  shift  the 
good-will  of  the  old  name  into  the  new  name  with  as  little 
loss  of  energy  as  possible.  In  fact,  we  were  bold  enough 
to  hope  for  a  line  of  action  which  would  enhance  our  good- 
will in  the  very  act  of  changing.  Once  the  new  name  was 
accomplished  we  must  go  after  the  greater  volume  of 
business  which  we  sensed  that  we  were  entitled  to. 

296.  The  Preliminary  Plan  to  Get  and  Popularize  Quickly 
a  New  Name. — After  deliberation  and  consultation  we  de- 
cided on  a  plan  of  action  to  achieve  a  new  name  with  a 
bold  stroke  for  simultaneous  publicity  to  make  the  public 
acquainted  with  it.  This  was  in  the  fall  of  1915.  We 
prepared  our  organization  for  the  big  things  coming  by 
abolishing  our  so-called  advertising  department,  as  such, 
and  organizing  instead  a  sales  promotion  department,  in 


372  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

order  that  a  more  effective  line-up  might  be  made  with  the 
two  vital  branches  of  the  work — advertising  and  sales. 

Then  the  plan  itself  was  devised.  It  was  labeled  to  the 
public  as  the  "Eveready  Name  Contest."  The  keynote  was 
that  we  offered  $3,000.00  for  a  better  name  than  "flash- 
light." That  campaign,  which  was  the  first  campaign  or- 
ganized with  a  definite  sales  objective,  cost  somewhere  in 
the  neighborhood  of  $150,000.  "We  did  not  spend  to  exceed 
$25,000  in  actual  publicity.  The  rest  of  it  was  spent  in 
dealer  and  distributor  cooperation.  It  cost  us  $15,000  to 
sell  the  idea  to  the  dealers,  showing  that  we  lacked  a  close 
tie-up  with  our  retail  trade.  The  prize  money,  which, 
when  we  got  through,  amounted  not  to  $3,000  but  to  $12,- 
000,  because  we  selected  a  name  that  had  been  selected  by 
four  people.  All  four  were  women  and  lived  in  different 
cities,  and  we  paid  the  full  amount  of  the  prize  to  each. 
We  got  value  out  of  the  duplication  by  making  a  great  sales 
promotion  feature  of  the  four  presentations. 

Incidentally,  an  advertising  manager  as  such  could  have 
carried  this  plan  only  up  to  a  certain  point,  the  dividing 
line  between  sales  and  advertising.  The  sales  promotion 
department  was  enabled  to  go  far  beyond  this.  It  got  the 
complete  plan  in  all  its  selling  angles  definitely  outlined, 
the  duties  to  be  assigned  to  the  sales  organization  in  con- 
nection with  that  plan  defined  and  operated  with  the  gen- 
eral sales  manager  and  the  sales  department  to  see  that 
those  duties  were  properly  carried  out. 

297.  The  Preliminary  Trade  Work. — The  plan  provided 
for  complete  cooperation  of  the  trade  and  the  stocking  of 
goods  before  a  line  of  the  prize  announcement  appeared. 
To  the  salesmen  of  our  distributors  we  offered  a  jack-pot 
prize  of  some  $2,000  for  the  largest  volume  of  orders  for 
thirty  days  previous  to  the  contest,  and  we  got  each  dis- 
tributor to  appoint  a  contest  manager  an  inside  man  who 
would  direct  the  salesmen  during  this  contest,  turning  in 


STORY  OF  ACTUAL  SELLING  CAMPAIGN     373 

to  us  weekly  reports,  names  of  dealers  and  amount  of  sales 
during  this  given  month.  "We  got  60  per  cent  of  our  dis- 
tributors to  enter  their  men  in  this  contest.  We  paid  cash 
prizes  to  thirty  winning  crews,  averaging  from  $10  up  to 
$35  per  man. 

The  net  result  was  to  sell  our  goods  to  the  trade  before 
we  spent  our  publicity.  We  got  them  well  distributed 
into  the  hands  of  the  jobbers  and  of  the  dealers  who  were 
to  make  prize  window  displays  from  October  7th  to  Oc- 
tober 14th,  for  which  we  offered  $4,000  in  cash  prizes.  In 
the  meantime,  we  made  the  dealers  understand  that  we 
were  offering  this  $3,000  prize  money  to  bring  the  public 
into  their  stores.  The  objective  was  SALES  for  the  dealer. 
We  showed  them  the  contest  blank.  During  that  contest 
month  from  October  7th  to  November  7th,  nearly  fifty 
thousand  dealers  distributed  five  million  contest  blanks. 
When  people  came  in  and  asked  for  the  contest  blanks  it 
was  a  great  opportunity  to  sell  them  flashlights,  and  thou- 
sands of  live  dealers  took  advantage  of  this. 

298.  Results  of  the  Contest.— We  received  531,000  sug- 
gestions for  a  better  name  than  "flashlight."  The}^  came 
from  men,  women  and  children  of  every  kind,  class  and 
description,  from  the  East  Side  of  New  York,  from  gov- 
ernors of  states,  from  highly  paid  executives.  The  con- 
test was  discussed  everywhere,  no  matter  where  you  went. 
The  executive  of  our  company  went  down  to  Florida  on  a 
vacation  in  January.  In  a  little  wayside  hotel  a  little  girl 
said:  "I  am  going  to  have  a  bicycle,  the  Eveready  people 
are  going  to  give  me  one ! ' '  And  her  father,  the  hotel 
proprietor,  said:  "Haven't  you  heard  about  the  contest?" 
Why,  she  and  her  mother  sat  up  all  night  making  up 
names!  And  so  it  went.  The  dealer  who  had  expected 
to  put  in  a  window  display  for  one  week  only,  actually 
maintained  his  display  during  the  entire  mouth  of  Oc- 
tober and  gave  out  contest  blanks. 


374  IMODERN  SALESISLVNAGEMENT 

The  dealers  during  that  month  sold  the  enormous  stocks 
we  had  sold  to  the  distributors.  I  have  many  reports  show- 
ing dealers  who  turned  their  stocks  over  three  times  in  one 
month.  A  month  after  the  contest  I  went  down  to  Virginia 
for  a  day  or  two.  There  a  dealer  still  had  his  window  dis- 
play up  and  was  giving  out  contest  blanks.  He  "didn't 
know  the  war  was  over ! ' '  He  was  still  selling  flashlights 
on  the  contest  plan. 

During  the  contest  the  dealers  spent  of  their  own  money 
nearly  $30,000  for  local  newspaper  advertising. 

299.  After  the  Name  "Was  Selected. — Finally,  the  new 
name  was  selected  and  we  made  the  announcement  on  April 
5th,  1917.  You  remember  what  was  happening  about  that 
time.  We  were  entering  the  war.  The  public  mind  waa 
not  on  contest  things.  Nevertheless,  we  had  thirty  thou- 
sand dealers  making  window  displays,  putting  the  an- 
nouncement poster  in  their  windows  and  buying  local  news- 
paper space  to  tell  their  local  publics  the  result.  "^Ve 
bought  space  in  three  or  four  hundred  local  newspapers 
ourselves,  and  got  splendid  cooperation  from  the  news- 
paper advertising  departments  in  lining  up  the  trade  lo- 
cally. 

You  can  see  that  the  merchandising  was  the  keynote  of 
the  entire  plan.  From  a  publicity  viewpoint  we  wanted 
people  to  distinguish  between  the  "Eveready"  flashlight 
and  other  kinds  of  products  sold  under  the  name  Ever 
Ready.  This  campaign  resulted  in  actual  sales  to  distrib- 
utors, to  dealers,  to  the  public,  not  only  during  the  con- 
test, but  continuously  ever  since. 

300.  Strategic  Deductions  from  the  Campaign. — "When 
this  campaign  was  first  projected  in  June,  1916,  until  it 
was  completed  in  November,  our  dealer  lists  grew  by  leaps 
and  bounds  from  23,000  to  55,000.  This  is  more  dealers 
than  any  one  company  could  cooperate  closely  with  in  a 
promotional  way.    We  had  the  usual  instances  where  one 


STORY  OF  ACTUAL  SELLING  CAMPAIGN    375 

dealer  complained  that  the  dealer  across  the  street  never 
had  any  Eveready  goods  and  should  not  have  had  a  window 
display  prize.  We  knew  a  great  many  competitive  dealers 
had  "borned  in"  and  were  cashing  in  on  the  legitimate 
activities  of  the  Ever-ready  dealer.  Nineteen  hundred  and 
seventeen  was  a  year  fraught  with  worries  and  uncertain- 
ties. Nobody  knew  what  business  was  going  to  be,  or 
whether  materials  could  be  had. 

It  seemed,  then,  there  was  just  one  thing  to  do,  and  that 
was  to  find  by  investigation  what  our  market  consisted  of. 
So  in  1917  we  made  an  analysis.  We  prepared  a  special 
questionnaire  for  these  55,000  dealers.  The  blank  told  as 
what  kind  of  a  dealer  John  Smith  was,  what  kind  of  a 
store  he  had  and  the  various  lines  he  sold,  what  the  size 
of  his  windows  were,  and  his  attitude  towards  our  lines. 
It  put  him  in  one  of  five  classes,  Eveready  Exclusively, 
"Combination,"  Competitive  exclusively,  Undesirable  or 
Not  Selling  Flashlights  at  all. 

When  we  got  through  with  this  huge  investigation  we 
had  FACTS  about  our  retail  distribution.  We  did  not 
need  to  guess  or  grope,  we  knew.  There  were  ten  thousand 
dealers  in  "tank"  towns  not  reached  by  our  men.  We 
used  a  questionnaire  on  them,  getting  three  thousand  ques- 
tionnaires filled  in.  They  told  us  things  about  our  busi- 
ness, things  about  our  methods  and  service,  things  about  the 
product,  that  were  decidedly  good  for  the  house  to  know. 
That  gave  us  a  whale  of  an  opportunity  to  establish  per- 
sonal contact  with  those  dealers,  through  genuine  type- 
written letters.  Normally  that  would  have  been  handled 
by  the  sales  department  as  a  matter  of  sales  department 
routine,  but  we  had  created  a  department  which  partook 
of  the  sales  and  advertising  functions  and  understood  the 
problems  of  each,  so  that  we  could  handle  such  a  matter 
with  a  thorough  appreciation  of  all  the  elements  involved. 

301.  Ready  Now  for  the  Big  Campaign.— 1916  and  1917 


376  MODERN  SALESIilANAGEMENT 

were  in  reality  only  preliminary  to  real  sales  promotion. 
We  had  not  known  the  necessary  facts  about  our  field  and 
our  trade,  and  we  had  never  gone  to  the  public  with  propa- 
ganda which  thoroughly  established  our  trade-mark,  our 
product  and  its  uses.  So  we  came,  during  1918,  to  the 
real  problem  of  every  manufacturer  who  is  making  a  prod- 
uct to  be  sold  through  retail  dealers.  How  shall  I  tie  up 
the  dealer  so  that  he  will,  first,  carry  an  adequate  stock; 
second,  concentrate  his  efforts  on  my  line,  and,  third,  put 
some  real  selling  effort  behind  it? 

Many  manufacturers  have  accepted  the  general  proposi- 
tion that  the  best  you  can  do  is  to  get  a  part  of  the  dealer's 
time  and  attention  that  he  will  carry  your  goods  along 
with  others  of  the  same  character  and  if  you  are  getting 
a  reasonable  amount  of  business  out  of  him  you  ought  to 
be  satisfied.  It  seemed  to  us  that  perhaps  we  could  go  a 
bit  farther.  Of  course,  the  dealer  does  not  usually  care 
how  good  your  line  is,  if  he  does  not  have  the  demand 
over  the  counter.  You  can  give  him  all  the  sales  helps  you 
like ;  the  demand  for  the  goods  has  to  be  there. 

302.  The  Three-Year  Plan  of  Growth.— ^Ye  decided  to 
establish  what  we  called  a  Blue  List  of  dealers.  We  gave 
our  plan  a  label  for  the  wholesale  and  retail  trade,  calling 
it  the  Eveready  Three  Year  Plan.  Briefly,  we  proposed  to 
create  demand  through  local  advertising  in  every  city  in 
the  United  States  in  a  period  of  three  years,  tying  up  the 
product  to  selected  local  dealers  in  the  public  mind.  We 
decided  that  during  the  first  year  we  would  take  forty  of 
the  largest  cities  in  the  United  States;  during  1919  we 
would  take  a  second  section;  and  during  1920  we  would 
cover  the  third  section,  comprising  every  city  of  25,000 
or  less. 

Naturally,  we  selected  dealers  in  these  forty  cities  on 
the  basis  of  the  1917  analysis  above  referred  to.  With 
the  acts  before  them,  plus  down-to-the-minute  information 


STORY  OF  ACTUAL  SELLING  CAMPAIGN     377 

that  a  traveling  representative  naturally  has,  the  sales  de- 
partment nominated  the  proposed  Blue  List  dealers  for 
each  city. 

303.  Signed  Cooperation  by  Dealers. — And  we  did  not 
simply  tell  the  dealer  we  had  put  him  on  our  Blue  List 
and  show  him  what  his  *' Christmas  package"  of  sales  co- 
operation would  consist  of.  "We  made  him  sign  an  appli- 
cation blank  to  become  a  member  of  the  Eveready  Blue 
List,  and  before  he  signed  it,  he  had  to  understand  not  only 
the  nine  definite  features  of  cooperation  offered  him  by 
Eveready,  but  the  nine  articles  of  cooperation  which  he 
must  carry  out  if  the  plan  was  to  succeed.  As  final  evi- 
dence of  his  sincerity  he  was  asked  to  give  our  representa- 
tive a  substantial  stock  order.  During  the  canvass  of  these 
forty  Blue  List  cities  selected  for  the  first  year,  our  men 
wrote  up  more  business  than  ever  before  for  a  similar 
period. 

In  instructing  the  salesmen  how  to  sign  up  Blue  List 
dealers,  nothing  was  left  to  the  imagination.  The  sales 
promotion  department  prepared  a  portfolio,  illustrating  the 
sales  helps,  and  gave  each  Eveready  representative  printed 
instructions  covering  his  interview  with  the  dealer  step  by 
step.  He  was  told  what  to  say,  though  not  necessarily  how 
to  say  it.    He  was  drilled  on  the  entire  proposition. 

The  Eveready  part  of  the  cooperation  covered  seasonable 
campaigns  from  month  to  month,  based  on  popular  flash- 
light uses  and  the  various  types  of  Eveready  Daylo  cases 
for  these  uses.  Of  course,  the  dealer  was  supplied  with 
the  necessary  window  and  store  material  for  these  cam- 
paigns. As  a  Blue  List  dealer  his  name  appeared  in  every 
newspaper  advertisement.  Other  dealers  selling  our  goods 
could  not  have  their  names  in  the  advertising  until  they 
qualified  as  Blue  List  dealers. 

304.  Conditions  for  Becoming  a  "Blue  List  Dealer." — The 
important  elements  of  the  Blue  List  plan  are  found  in  four 


378  MODERN  SALESMANAGEJilENT 

features  covered  by  the  nine  conditions  on  the  back  of  the 
Blue  List  bhmk.     These  are  merchandising  fundamentals: 

1.  lie  must  carry  adequate  stock,  kept  in  good  condition, 
and  must  display  same  in  a  suitable  show-case  of  his  own, 
permanently  placed  in  the  store. 

2.  As  most  flashlights  look  alike,  he  must  maintain  dis- 
play material,  furnished  by  Eveready,  in  the  show-case 
with  the  goods  to  identify  the  Eveready  Daylo  line. 

3.  He  must  use  the  window  and  store  material  con- 
sistently, thus  making  his  own  store  a  suitable  advertise- 
ment, tying  up  with  the  advertised  cgnnpaigns. 

4.  He  must  maintain  on  his  door  or  window  the 
Eveready  Service  Station  Decalcomanie  Transfer  which  we 
supply.  There  is  no  better  example  of  the  merchandising 
effect  upon  the  dealer  than  the  story  of  what  happened  with 
the  window  transfers.  You  know  how  the  average  high- 
class  dealer  feels  about  having  such  a  transfer  on  his  store. 
We  did  not  say  to  these  dealers — ' '  Please,  dear,  good,  kind 
Mr.  Dealer,  let  us  put  up  this  transfer."  We  led  him 
right  up  to  the  point  where  he  saw  that  unless  his  store 
was  so  labeled  the  public  could  not  identify  it  as  a  place 
for  obtaining  flashlight  batteries  and  bulbs,  as  advertised 
in  the  local  papers.  The  transfer  design  was  widely  fea- 
tured in  the  newspaper  and  billboard  advertising,  and  this 
fact   was  kept  constantly   before   dealers. 

Take  a  concrete  example  of  the  widespread  acceptance 
of  the  transfer  and  the  distribution  obtained  by  the  Blue 
List  plan.  In  the  city  of  Detroit  my  inspection  trip  showed 
138  Blue  List  dealers  where  distribution  previously  did  not 
exceed  half  this  number.  There  were  not  half  a  dozen 
instances  where  the  window  transfer  was  not  in  use. 

305.  Checking  a  "Fall  Down"  by  Salesmen. — Of  course,  in 
a  plan  of  this  kind  the  salesmen  slipped  up  on  some  de- 
tails. For  example,  we  got  out  a  flashlight  Signaling  Code 
for  the  dealer  to  distribute,  and  found  that  the  salesmen 


STORY  OF  ACTUAL  SELLING  CAMPAIGN     379 

had  not  gotten  the  idea  across  that  the  purpose  of  these 
was  to  create  an  opportunity  for  sales,  and  not  simply 
to  educate  the  public.  We  got  the  salesmen  in  and  sold 
the  idea  over  again  and  they  were  putting  it  across  in 
fine  style  until  the  Government  asked  us  to  discontinue 
teaching  the  public  how  to  signal  with  a  flashlight  for 
war-time  reasons. 

In  starting  the  Blue  List  plan,  we  fully  informed  our 
distributors,  and  those  located  in  Blue  List  cities  were 
tied  up  specially  to  the  campaign  to  insure  service  to  the 
retail  dealers. 

Perhaps  you'll  ask  how  matters  were  handled  when  the 
Sales  Promotion  Department  raised  some  criticisms  on  a 
salesman's  work.  The  answer  was  exceedingly  simple. 
The  salesman's  work  was  based  on  the  plan,  so  that  when 
a  criticism  was  made  it  was  not  based  on  a  matter  of  Sales 
Promotion  Department  of  opinion,  but  on  the  details  of 
the  plan,  which  had  been  fully  agreed  upon  by  the  Sales 
and  Sales  Promotion  Departments. 

306,  The  Campaign  Outlined  in  Detail. — Our  entire  pro- 
cedure had  been  reduced  to  writing  and  approved  by  all 
concerned  so  that  there  was  no  possible  chance  for  crossed 
wires.    Let  me  quote  the  four  paragraphs  that  cover  this : 

1.  The  sales  plan  for  each  line  is  prepared  in  advance 
for  an  entire  year,  together  with  budget  estimates. 

2.  The  Sales  Promotion  Manager  submits  his  plans  in 
writing  to  the  Vice-President  and  General  Manager,  Gen- 
eral Salesmanager  and  the  Branch  ]\Ianagers.  Plans  are 
discussed  in  conference  and  the  program  agreed  upon,  the 
Sales  Promotion  Department  thereby  having  authority  to 
put  the  plans  into  effect  and  to  obtain  full  cooperation 
from  the  field  organization. 

3.  Production  and  distribution  are  carried  out  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  approved  budget  for  the  year. 

4.  A  "train-dispatching"  system  of  schedules  and  due 


380  MODERN  SALESMANAGEMENT 

dates  coordinates  production  and  distribution  of  sales  helps 
and  advertising  with  the  program  for  each  line  and  cam- 
paign. 

307.  How  the  Sales  Promotion  Department  Operates. — To 
indicate  the  plan  and  scope  of  the  Sales  Promotion  Or- 
ganization, note  the  following: 

An  interlocking  system  of  salesmen's  reports  is  main- 
tained with  the  cooperation  of  the  Sales  Department.  The 
Sales  Promotion  Department  is  automatically  advised  of: 

1.  Appointment  or  elimination  of  distributors. 

2.  Distribution  of  sales  helps  by  the  salesmen. 

3.  Reports  on  trade  conditioned. 

4.  Specific  reports  on  individual  distributors  and  deal- 
ers in  connection  with  any  given  campaigns. 

In  like  manner,  information  issued  and  service  rendered 
to  the  trade  is  automatically  reported  in  detail  to  the 
Sales  Department. 

The  records  of  the  department  are  designed  to  be  a 
complete  file  of: 

1.  Trade  statistics  for  each  line. 

2.  Amount  and  cost  of  sales  helps  furnished  each  dealer 
or  jobber. 

3.  Perpetual  inventories  of  all  sales  helps  materials, 
for  maintenance  of  stock  and  to  prevent  materials  dying 
on  our  hands. 

4.  A  running  historj^  of  service  desired  by  and  given  to 
individual  distributors  and  dealers. 

5.  Competitive  data  by  territories  and  localities  for 
each  Eveready  line. 

A  monthly  report  is  furnished  each  branch,  showing  total 
sales  promotion  expenditures  of  all  classes  for  each  line  of 
territory. 

Detailed  records  of  service  rendered  distributors  and 
dealers  are  sent  to  each  territory  weekly  for  the  informa- 


STORY  OF  ACTUAL  SELLING  CAMPAIGN    381 

tion  of  the  salesmen,  as  a  means  of  obtaining  additional 
business. 

To  make  Sales  Promotion  expenditures  a  definite  mat- 
ter of  record,  the  Accounting  Department  ledger  classi- 
fication now  coresponds  to  our  budget  classifications. 

308.  Principles  Behind  Successful  Sales  Promotion  De- 
partment.— The  ksynote  of  all  our  efforts  may  be  stated  as 
follows : 

The  creation  of  a  Sales  Promotion  Department  as  a 
separate  and  distinct  unit  is  a  logical  step  forward  in  busi- 
ness specialization. 

Such  a  department  concentrates  upon  one  master  prob- 
lem— marketing.  Within  the  Sales  Promotion  organ- 
ization must  be  combined  a  broad  and  thoroughly  practical 
knowledge  of  consumer  demand  and  trade  distribution, 
plus  an  equally  broad  and  accurate  knowledge  of  the  com- 
pany's products  and  the  nature  of  the  service  they  render 
to  their  users. 

The  ideal  Sales  Promotion  Department  considers  the  es* 
tablished  policies  of  the  company,  measures  accurately  th^ 
present  relationship  of  product,  market  and  distribution, 
and  devises  ways  and  means  based  upon  sound  salesman^ 
ship  for  fertilizing  the  consumer  field,  intensifying  demand 
and  perfecting  distribution  and  service  to  the  public 
through  the  trade. 

Analysis  and  sales  judgment  thus  crystallize  into 
plans,  plainly  labeled  for  the  use  of  the  sales  and  dis^ 
tributing  organization.  Only  by  establishing  definite  sales 
objectives  (plans)  can  the  tangible  evidences  of  so-called 
advertising  in  its  many  forms  be  produced  and  distributed 
with  profitable  results.  For,  the  use  of  advertising  is 
valuable  only  to  the  extent  in  which  it  coordinates  with 
definitely  planned  sales  effort. 

Sales  Promotion  results  must  be  obtained  through  co- 
operation rather  than  by  authority.     The  department's 


382  MODERN  SALESEIANAGEMENT 

selling  ability  is  daily  tested  by  its  ability  to  market  to 
tbe  sales  distributing  organizations  the  ideas  that  they,  in 
turn,  must  market  to  the  public.  The  Sales  Promotion 
Manager  must  accomplish  this  without  in  any  way  en- 
croaching upon  the  authority  of  other  executives. 


INDEX 


Adjusting  the  appeal  of  the 
prospect,  260 

Adjusting  salesman  to  organi- 
zation work,  186 

Administration  problems  de- 
fined, 236 

Advantages  and  disadvantages 
of  selling  to  jobbers,  86 

Advertising  as  a  competitive 
tool  for  prestige,  108 

Advertising  assistance,  making 
salesmen  sell,  285 

Advertising,  salesmen  and,  288 

Advertising's  part  in  sales  con- 
ferences and  conventions,  288 

Advertising  to  cut  down  intro- 
duetoiy  sales  expenses,  289 

After  the  name  was  selected, 
374 

Allegiance  to  house,  191 

Analogy  and  statistics,  361 

Analysis,  7 

Analysis  of  general  basic  fac- 
tors, 347 

Analytical  point  of  view,  the,  5 

Analytical  procedure  for  a 
new  article,  341 

Analyzing  physical  appear- 
ance, forehead  and  eyes,  262 

Analyzing  physical  appear- 
ance,  lips,  chin,  etc.,   263 

Appearances,  can  salesmen  be 
picked  from?  125 


Application  of  the  point  sys- 
tem, 170 

Application  forms,  127 

Applying  engineering  stand- 
ards to  sales  work,  338 

Applying  the  per  capita  meas- 
ure, 121 

Appraising  good  will,  235 

Authority  and  responsibility, 
29 

Automatic  sales  through  smooth 
running  distribution,  76 

Averages,  law  of,  356;  increas- 
ing average  of  sales,  301 

Beaver  Board  Co.'s,  experi- 
ence, 190 

Best  lines  on  which  to  split  ter- 
ritory, 112 

Bonus  and  certificate  plans,  321 

Bonus  and  contest  plans,  154 

Branch  warehouses,  87 

Budget,  sales,  238 

Budgeting  a  quota,  242 

Bulletins,  letters,  house  organs 
as  stimulators,  161 

Burrough's  leagues,  163 

Campaign,   outlined   in   detail, 

379 
Can  salesmen  be  picked  from 

appearance?  125 


383 


384 


INDEX 


Canvassing      and      tabulating 

trade  sentiment,  344 
"Caveat"  strategy',  219 
Centers,  jobbing,  114 
Changing    the    public's    habits 

and  standards,  94 
Charting  the  sales  organization, 

38 
Checking    a    "fall    down"    by 

salesmen,  378 
Checking  sales  work,  346 
Chronological  order  of  lines  of 

investigation,  341 
City    territoiy,    special    prob- 
lems, 115 
Classification  of  factors  against 

which  business  must  guard, 

368 
Classification  of  strategic  poli- 
cies, 207 
Clerk  education,  323 
"Closing,"  the  fine  art  of,  267 
Color  scheme  for  maps,  333 
Commissions,  salesmen's,  142 
Common    errors    in    sales    cost 

figuring,  246 
Compensation  for  salesmen,  138 
Competition,  102 
Competition  for  prestige,  107 
Complicated     series     strategy, 

209 
Concentration  of  saleswork,  79 
Conditions     for     becoming     a 

"Blue  List  dealer,"  377 
Conditions   which    make    sales 

schools  necessary,  198 
Conferences,  44 
Confusing  or  "feint"  strategy, 

211 
Consumer  data  by  districts  or 

counties.  337 


Consumption,  surveys  of  fu- 
ture, 345 

Contests,  154,  159 

Contingencies,  365 

Conventions,  sales,  175 

Cooperation  in  the  develop- 
ment of  good  will,  233 

Copy,  viseing  of,  281 

CoiTect  conception  of  sales  or- 
ganizations, 33 

CoiTect  physical  arrangement 
for  conventions,  178 

Correct  relation  of  the  article 
to  the  sales  plan,  16 

Correcting  erroneous  notions 
that  salesmen  develop,  189 

Cost  of  aggressive  selling,  248 

Cost  of  doing  business  in  vari- 
ous retail  lines,  297,  299 

Costs  and  profits  traced  to  in- 
dividual salesman,  253 

Creating  demand,  92 

Crediting  mail  sales  and  uncol- 
lectable  accounts,  147 

Data  needed  concerning  sales 
districts,  119 

Data  on  profits,  252 

Dealer  heli^s,  317 

Dealing  with  the  question  of 
drink  and  over-fondness  for 
women,  194 

Decreasing  the  retail  cost  of  do- 
ing business,  297 

Defense  strategy,  213 

Definition  of  good  will,  230 

Degree  of  authority  of  sales  de- 
partment over  product,  25 

Demand  as  a  state  of  mind,  92 

Demand  creation,  the  technical 
tools  of,  97 


INDEX 


385 


Demand  creation  in  relation  to 

a  mass  movement,  95 
Departmented      and     itemized 

cost,  299 
Desirable  customers,  277 
Detailed  summaries,  334 
Development  and  maintenance 

of  self-faith,  184 
Development  of  tendencies  in 

the  buying  public,  98 
Difference  between  policy  and 

principle,  64 
Differences  between  staple  and 

specialty  salesmen,  152 
Different  forms  of  sales  organ- 
ization, 34 
Difficulties     and     problems    in 
salesman's  compensation,  138 
Direct  action  or  offensive  strat- 
egy, 207 
Direct  selling,  to  retailers,  85 
Distribution    as    a    mechanism, 

82 
Distribution,     percentage     of, 

81 
Distribution  strategy,  217 
Distribution,  the  seven  elements 

of  successful,  77 
Districts  and  their  boundaries 

and  natural  centers,  118 
Districts,  sales,  119 
Divisions  of  sales  cost,  246 
Domination  strategy,  218 
Drawing  accounts,  148 
Drink,  and  salesmen,  194 
Dynamic  point  of  view,  the,  7 

Educational  campaigns,  99 
Educational  effort  of  dealers  to 

increase  distribution,  83 
Educational  strategy,  214 


Efficiency,  83 

Eliminating  the  fear  of  compe- 
tition, 188 

Employees'  idea  regarding  their 
position,  43 

Engineering  standards,  apply- 
ing to  sales,  338 

Equality  and  uniformity,  149 

Equipment,  salesmen's,  275 

Equipping  sales  people  to  push 
goods,  293 

"Esprit  de  Corps,"  43,  270 

Essential  details  of  convention 
arrangement,  178 

Ever-ready  campaign,  370 

Examinations  and  certificates 
of  passage,  203 

Example  of  cost  of  aggressive 
selling,  249 

Example  of  merchandise  group- 
ing for  point  system,  172 

Example  of  symbols,  275 

Expense  reports  and  expense 
accounts,  336 

Experimentation  and  market 
test,  17 

Eyes,  262 

Facial  expressions,  256 

Factors  for  point  system  re- 
wards, 173 

Factors  for  which  people  pay 
higher  prices,  48 

Factory,  capacity  and  seasonal 
variations,  29 

Facts,  humility  before,  363 

Featuring  a  single  policy  as  a 
keynote,  68 

Feeling  accompanying  every 
idea  or  expression,  255 

Feeling  out  the  future,  364 


386 


INDEX 


Fitrhting  invisible  competition, 
296 

Fitting  the  territory  to  the 
salesman,  122 

Fixing  of  authority  and  respon- 
sibility, the,  29 

Florence  Manufacturing  Co., 
322 

Freight  considerations,  115 

Function,  11 

Future  consumption  surveys, 
345 

General  profit  and  price  policy, 
54 

General  records  that  a  sales  of- 
fice should  have,  336 

General  sales  surveys,  346 

Getting  power  and  pimch  out  of 
advertising,  293 

Getting  salespeople  to  think, 
295 

Getting  sales  punch  to  retail- 
er through  jobbers,  88 

Globe-Wernicke  strategy,  209 

Good-will,  224,  230 

Good-will  and  advertising  de- 
partments, 231 

Good-will  strategy,  216 

Goods,  22-23 

Goods  must  render  the  service 
the  customer  expects,  222 

Graphic  systems,  329 

Habit  of  thought,  265 

Habits  and  standards,  chang- 
ing public's,  94 

Handling  compensation  of 
jimiors,  149 

"High  spot  selling"  versus  con- 


centration     and     intensified 

work,  79 
Honor   as  stimulation   and   in- 
centive, 155 
Hood's    Sareaparilla    offensive 

strategy,  207 
House  oi'gan,  for  stimulating, 

161,  319 
House  policy  as  a  competition 

safeguard,  102 
House     policy,     standardizing, 

270 
How      aggi'essive     advertising 

builds   distribution,   82 
How    much     tenitory    can    a 

salesman  cover?  113 
How  the  sales  convention  de- 
veloped, 175 
How  the  sales  promotion  Dept. 

operates,  380 
How  to  develop  individuality, 

19 
How  to  measure  the  efficiency 

of  a  policy,  67 
How  to  plan  for  contingencies, 

365 
How  to  shape  a  thorough-going 

plan  of  compensation,  143 
Humility  before  facts,  363 

Idea,      feeling      accompanjdng 

each,  255 
Ideal    plan    for    contents    of 

sales  manual,  272 
Ideas,  great  power  of,  367 
Illustration     of     exceptionally 

elaborate  convention,  176 
Importance  of  individuality  in 

merchandise,  19 
Importance  of  the  nian  in  sales 

success,  thci  74 


INDEX 


387 


Importance    of    equality    and 

uniformity,   145 
Importance    of    allegiance    to 

house,  191 
Importance  of  food  and  drink 

problem,  180 
Increasing  the  average  of  sale, 

301 
Increasing       the        salesman's 

knowledge     of     advertising, 

283 
Indirect    developers    of    good- 
will, 232 
Indirect  strategy,  208 
Individuality,  how  to  develop, 

19 
Individuality,   points  for   com- 
petitive   merchandise,    19 
Inquiries,  and  salesmen,  287 
Instructions       for       operating 

point  system,  168 
Intensified  selling,  79 
Interest,  arousing  in  prospect, 

256 
Interesting  a  jobber  in  a  new 

article,  307 
Investigation,  6,  24 
Items  for  charted  summary  of 

information,  334 

Jobber  price,  303 

Jobbers,  advantages  and  disad- 
vantages of  dealing  with,  86 

Jobber's  "spread,"  306 

Jobbing  centers  and  their  rela- 
tion to  sales  territory,  114 

Jumps,  salesmen's,  276 

Juniors,  compensation  of,  140 

Law  of  averages,  356 
Law    of    diminishing    returns, 
360 


Law  of  statistical  regularity, 
362 

Laying  protective  lines,  367 

Layout  of  national  sales  dis- 
tricts, 117 

Leading  points  of  sales  appeal, 
259 

Legal  protection  of  good-will, 
233 

Letters  as  stimulators,  161 

"Link  up"  argument,  313 

Living  standards  of  salesmen, 
139 

Local  advertising  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  manufacturer  or 
half  and  half,  315 

Logic  of  carefully  split  terri- 
tory,  the,   111 

Loyalty  and  "esprit  de  corps" 
for  both  the  firm  and  Dept., 
43 

Making  an  article  "fool  proof" 
and  convenient,  21 

Making  a  successful  program, 
181 

Making  conventions  profitable 
and  practical,  177 

Making  salesmen  sell  advertis- 
ing assistance  rather  than 
merchandise,  285 

Maps  and  tacks  and  other 
graphic  systems,  329 

Market  investigations,  340 

Mass  movement  and  demand 
creation,  95 

Matters  for  which  policies  are 
important,   66 

Measurement  of  good-will,  234 

Meeting  the  competitor's  sell- 
ing arguments,  106 


388 


INDEX 


Meeting   the   consumers'   need, 

22 
Memorandum  forms,  336 
Merchandise,  19,  20 
Merchandise  as  reward,  156 
Merchandise  factors  measurable 

by  point  system,  171 
Merchandising  instinct,  12 
Methods  of  arousing  salesman's 

enthusiasm    for    advertising, 

288 
Methods  of  curriculums,  201 
Methods  used  to  make  a  "spe- 
cial week"  interesting,  320 
Miscellaneous  dealer  helps,  317 
Missionary    plan    of    assisting 

jobbers,  305 
Mistake  in  setting  a  quota,  241 
Multiplicity   of  models   versus 

standardization,  31 

Names,  trade-mark  or  slogan 
that  help  create  desire,  97 

National   advertising,   312 

National  Cash  Register  point 
system  plan,  170 

National  Cash  Register  school 
system  plan,  200-203 

National  sales  districts,  117 

Native  qualities  in  salesmen, 
129 

Necessity  of  carefully  laid  job- 
ber policy,  303 

Need  of  synchronizing  making 
and  selling,  25 

Need  for  applying  scientific 
tests  to  applicants,  127 

Order  blanks,  276 
Order  of  importance  of  points 
of  merit,  260 


Organization,    adjusting   sales- 
men to,  186 
Organization     as     competitive 

protection,  109 
Organization,  charting  sales,  38 
Organization  manual,  40 
Organization  position  of  sales 
and  advertising  department. 
280 
Outline  for  sales  manual,  216 
Overcoming  too  great  obsession 

by  competition,  187 
Overlapping  of  duties  and  au- 
thority, 41 

Partnership,  manufacturer's, 
with  dealer,  311 

Peculiar  types  of  contests,  160 

Per  capita  consumption  statis- 
tics, 351 

Per  capita  measure,  121 

Personal,  11 

Personal  qualities,  2 

Perspective,  335 

Physical  appearance,  analyzing, 
262-263 

Piece  work  or  task  and  bonus 
plan  of  selling,  149 

Plan  for  automatic  salary  rais- 
es, 146 

Point  of  view,  1 

Point  system,  170 

Policies  and  the  human  equa- 
tion, 73 

Policies  and  principles,  64 

Policy,  the  twenty-j^ear  point 
of  view,  71 

Preference  for  young  green 
material,  132 

Preliminary  trade  work,  372 

Prestige,  competition  for,  109 


INDEX 


389 


Preventing  sales  scnools  from 
pauperizing  salesmen,  199 

Principal  native  qualities  gen- 
erally agreed  to  be  essential 
for  salesmen,  129 

Principle,  5 

Principle  and  policy  compared, 
64 

Pi-ineiples  applied  in  obtaining 
an  average,  357 

Principles  behind  successful 
sales  promotion  department, 
381 

Price — 

Advance   geographical   price 

equalization,  61 
Concessions,  106 
Equality,  50 
Fixing  the  re-sale,  52 
Just  discrimination,  51 
Merchandising  a  price,  57 
Protecting   dealers   and   job- 
bers against  themselves  in 
price  policy,  58 
Psychology  of  retail  price,  55 
Quality    and    individuality, 

47 
Zone  system  for  jobbing  and 
retail  price,  50 

Price  as  a  competitive  factor, 
104 

Production  and  selling,  27 

Profit  sharing,  162 

Profit  sharing  for  salespeople, 
294 

Profiting  by  competitor's  weak- 
ness of  policy,  70 

Profits,  data  on,  252 

Profits,  traced  to  individual 
salesmen,  253 

Program,  sales  convention,  181 


Promises  should  be  uncondi- 
tionally made  good,  223 

Promptness  and  dispatch,  179 

Prospect,  277 

Prospect,  adjusting  appeal  to, 
260 

Psychology  of  statistics,  358 

Quota,  general  sales,  241 
Quota  plan,  157 

Reaching  the  prospect's  mind 
through  the  five  senses,  257 

Ready  now  for  the  big  cam- 
paign, 375 

Reasons  behind  intensive  sales 
training,  197 

Reasons  for  describing  an  ac- 
tual campaign  and  for  select- 
ing this  one,  370 

Reasons  for  increasing  sales- 
man's knowledge  of  adver- 
tising, 283 

Reasons  for  development  of 
point  system,  167 

Reasons  why  market  investiga- 
tions are  essential,  340 

Rebuttal  talks,  266 

Records  of  current  business,  336 

Records  that  sales  office  should 
have,  336 

Reduction  of  sales  territoiy,  120 

References  and  information  file, 
337 

Relation  of  compensation  to 
type  of  man  required  and  his 
living  standards,  139 

Relation  of  production  time  to 
sales  policy,  27 

Repair  parts,  22 

Reserve  resources,  365 


390 


INDEX 


Results  of  contest,  373 
Retail  cost  keeping,  297,  300 
Right    organization    point    of 

view,  10 
Route  lists  and  maps,  333 

Salary,  automatic  raises,  146 

Salary  or  commission,  or  both, 
141 

Sales  and  advertising  differ- 
ences deferred,  279 

Sales  cost,  244 

Sales  cost  and  fixity  of  demand, 
247 

Sales  conference  methods  and 
principles,  44 

Sales  manual,  270 

Sales  organization  manual,  40 

Sales  promotion  departments, 
381 

Sales  quota,  241 

Sales  schools,  198 

Sales  strategy,  205 

Salesman  at  large,  324 

Salesman's  report  blank,  332 

Salesman's  type  of  mind,  183 

Salesmanagers  and  their  atti- 
tude to  habits  and  supersti- 
tions, 195 

Salesmanship,  255 

Salesmen  and  dealer  help  ad- 
vertising, 286 

Salesmen's  cooperation  with 
advertising  inquiries,  287 

Salesmen's  route  list  and  route 
maps,  333 

Saturation  point,  354 

Scientific  tests  for  applicants, 
127 

Scope  of  use  of  averages,  358 

Sears-Roebuck  service,  223 


Seasonal  variations,  29 

Secret  action  strategy,  210 

Secret  price  concessions,  106 

Secrets  of  self -faith,  the,  185 

Selecting  salesmen  to  fit  type 
of  men  they  will  sell  to,  136 

Selecting  salesmen  who  can  sell 
policies  as  well  as  merchan- 
dise, 134 

Self  faith,  in  salesmen,  184 

Selling  sales,  not  goods  to  deal- 
ers, 291 

Service  as  a  means  to  help  ed- 
ucate, 100 

Ser\dce  as  the  central  keynote 
in  sales  building,  221 

Service  should  be  closely  de- 
fined and  definitely  stated, 
228 

Service  should  be  rendered 
spontaneously,   222 

Service  should  be  without  a 
risk  or  convenience  to  the 
customer,  225 

Ser\ice  should  express  person- 
al relationship,  228 

Service  should  provide  full 
technical  information  and 
ad\dce,  227 

Service  to  be  efficient  should  be 
rendered  entii'ely  from  the 
point  of  view  of  the  custom- 
er, 226 

Should  functions  of  sales  and 
advertising  manager  be  com- 
bined, 278 

Signed  cooperation  by  dealers, 
377 

Sliding  scales,  55 

Some  defects  of  the  salary  and 
commission  plan,  142 


INDEX 


391 


Some  typical  bonus  and  con- 
test plans,  154 

Sound  principles  for  operating 
contests,  159 

Special  conditions  of  big  city 
territory,  115 

Special  margin  plans  and  slid- 
ing scales,  55 

Special  methods  of  influencing 
jobber  salesman,  308 

Special  reward  factors  measur- 
able by  point  system,  173 

Special  week  selling  plans,  320 

Specialty  salesmen,  152 

Speech  and  acts,  264 

Splitting  territory,  112 

Standard  burden  plan  of 
"equalizing"  factory  time, 
28 

Standard  Oil  strategy,  208 

Standard  Sanitary  Mfg.  Co., 
strategy  of,  206 

Standardization  through  sym- 
bols, 275 

Standardized  definitions,  277 

Standardized  order  blanks  for 
use  with  symbols,  276 

Standardized  routine,  277 

Standardizing  house  policy,  270 

Standardizing  salesman's  equip- 
ment, 275 

Standardizing  salesman's 
"jumps,"  276 

Standardizing  work  of  selling, 
269 

Staple  salesmen,  152 

Star  salesman  versus  average 
salesman,  131 

State  of  mind,  1,  92,  93 

Statistical  regularity,  law  of, 
362 


Statistics,   correct   attitude  to- 
ward, 348 
Statistics,  main  classes,  350 
Statistics  of  distribution,  344 
Stimulation,  basic  need  of,  151 
Stimulation,  with  national  ad- 
vertising,  312 
Stimulations,     various     forms, 

152 
Strategic  deductions  from  the 

campaign,  374 
Strategy,  sales,  205 
Studying  the  prospect,  261 
Subjects       for       salesmanship 

study,  202 
Superstitions,  salesmen's,  195 
Surveys,  general  sales,  346 
Surveys  of  retail  possible  busi- 
ness, 292 
Symbols,  275 

Synchronizing   dealer  coopera- 
tion with  the  appearance  of 
advertising,  314 
Systematic     educational     cam- 
paigns, 99 


Table    of    contents    for    sales 

manual,  271 
Tabulating  trade  sentiment,  344 
Task  and  bonus  plan  of  selling, 

149 
Temperance    at    sales    conven- 
tions, 180 
Territorial    factors    measurable 

by   means   of   point   system, 

170 
Territorial    readiness    to    meet 

competition,  103 
Territorial  sales  organizations, 

117 


393 


INDEX 


Territory  analyzed  on  a  con- 
sumer basis,  114 

Territory  as  related  to  routes 
of  fi'eight  transport,  115 

Territoiy,  fitting  to  salesmen, 
122 

The  "approach"  arousing  in- 
terest, 256 

The  basic  need  for  stimulation, 
151 

The  campaign  outlined  in  de- 
tail, 379 

The  correct  attitude  toward 
statistics,  348 

The  feeling  accompanying 
every  idea  or  impression,  255 

The  general  sales  quota,  241 

The  general  situation  in  sales 
cost,  244 

The  great  power  of  ideas,  367 

The  law  of  averages,  356 

The  law  of  diminishing  returns, 
360 

The  law  of  statistical  regular- 
ity, 362 

The  manufacturer's  partnership 
with  the  dealer,  311 

The  missionary  plan  of  assist- 
ing jobbers,   305 

The  nature  of  good-will,  230 

The  piece  work  or  task  and  bo- 
nus idea  in  selling,  149 

The  preliminary  plan  to  get 
and  popularize  quickly  a  new 
name,  371 

The  preliminary  trade  work, 
372 

The  principles  to  be  applied  in 
obtaining  an  average,  357 

The  psychology  of  statistics, 
358 


The  quota  plan,  157 

The  nght  definition  of  sales 
strategy,  205 

The  sales  budget,  238 

The  sales  department  as  an  ad- 
ministrative problem,  236 

The  sales  manual,  270 

The  salesman  type  of  mind  and 
its  needs,  183 

The  saturation  point,  354 

The  size  of  the  jobber's 
"spread"  as  an  inducement, 
306 

The  strategic  situation  before 
the  campaign  started,  370 

The  subtle  work  of  creating  a 
state  of  mind  that  leads  to 
demand,  93 

The  two  main  classes  of  sta- 
tistics, 350 

The  various  forms  of  stimula- 
tion to  choose  from,  152 

Time  annihilation  strategy,  206 

Trained  merchandising  instinct, 
12 

Unforeseen  developments,  365 
Unit  order  forms,  329 
United  Drug  Co.,  293,  294,  295 
Units  of  direct  interest  to  sales 

department,  332 
Use  of  application  forms,  127 
Utilizing  the  game  instinct,  163 

Value  of  advertising  supported 
and  unsupported,  293 

Variations  of  the  bonus  plan, 
322 

Viseing  of  advertising  copy  by 
the  sales  department,  281 

VLsualizing  the  sales  field,  328 


INDEX 


393 


Tital  matter  of  general  costs, 
the,  251 

Vital  need  of  definite  sales  poli- 
cies, the,  63 

Vital  things  to  know  about  sales 
organizations  and  field  prob- 
lems, 335 

Volume  in  relation  to  sales 
cost,  250 

Warehouses,  branch,  87 
Watching  buyers'  facial  expres- 
sions, 256 
Watching  formative  ideas,  366 
Wedge  action  strategy,  212 
What  is  salesmanship  ?  255 
What   properly  is   sales  cost? 

245 
"Why"     investigations     should 

be  made  by  outsiders,  343 

Why  more   sales  schools   have 

not  been  established,  108 


Why  retail  merchandising  in- 
sight is  essential  in  salesman- 
agement,  290 

Why  salesmen  are  diflSeult  to 
select,  124 

Why  selling  requires  standard- 
izing, 269 

Why  some  firms  prefer  to  sell 
direct  to  retailers,  85 

Willful,  reckless  price  competi- 
tion, 105 

Winchester  Kep^ssting  Arms 
Co.  engineering  formula, 
338 

Window  display  plans  and 
service,  320 

Working  toward  a  ''close,"  266 

Wrong  traditions  and  supersti- 
tions among  salesmen,  191 


Y.  M.  C.  A.  sales  schools,  199 


(11) 


BOOKS  ON  ADVERTISING 


THE  BUSINESS  OF  ADVERTISING 

By  Earnest  Elmo  Calkins.  A  complete  survey  of 
the  entire  field  of  advertising  from  the  standpoint  of 
the  advertising  man,  the  manufacturer,  the  retailer, 
and  the  public.  $3.00 

ADVERTISING  AND  SELLING 

By  Harry  L.  Hollingworth.  Long  investigation  and 
experience  here  analyze  the  pulling-power  of  adver- 
tising appeals.  Exact  information  on  their  relative 
values.  $3.00 

EFFECTIVE  DIRECT  ADVERTISING 

By  Robert  E.  Ramsay.  A  detailed  handbook  on  every 
kind  of  direct  advertising,  including  physical  make-up, 
principles  and  functions  of  copy,  and  the  methods  of 
distribution.  $5.00 

HOW  ADVERTISEMENTS  ARE  BUILT 

By  Gilbert  P.  Farr.\r.  Contains  complete  information 
necessary  for  constructing  advertisements  for  use  in 
newspapers  and  magazines.  $3.50 

EFFECTIVE  HOUSE  ORGANS 

By  Robert  E.  Ramsay.  The  standard  work  on  how  to 
edit  and  publish  a  successful  house  organ.  Every  detail 
is  covered,  and  the  book  is  fully  illustrated.  $3.50 

ADVERTISING  FOR  THE  RETAILER 

By  Lloyd  D.  Herrold.  All  the  advertising  methods  the 
retailer  needs  to  know  fully  and  practically  discussed 
from  the  retailer's  viewpoint.  $5.00 

ADVERTISING:     ITS  PROBLEMS  AND  METHODS 

By  John  H.  Cover.  A  comprehensive,  sensible  survey 
of  advertising,  written  in  an  animated  style  and  illus- 
trated with  a  host  of  up-to-date  examples.  $3.00 

New  York        D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY        London 


TMs-book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  beloinA  i «  -<  t"  U  K  L 

„  I   wi  NOV  2  8  1980 


UNIVERSITY  of  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGKLES 
LIBRARY 


